Thread: I'll Drink To That

For the ladies..............but I guess for us men also!

As reported in 2005 by the New England Journal of Medicine, a Harvard University-affiliated study reinforces previous studies' suggestion that moderate drinking may reduce the effects of dementia.

This new research, conducted on a sample of over 11,000 women aged 70-81 for 2 full years, found that those who consumed at least one alcoholic beverage every day scored better on cognitive and memory tests than non-drinkers. The drinkers were also found to run lower risks of mental impairment and cognitive decline over time than the teetotalers. The study made no distinction between types of alcohol: Beer, wine, and liquor all seemed to contribute to the positive effects.

The study's author, a doctor from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, theorized that alcohol's proven benefits to the heart and blood vessels may also be the root causes of its brain-boosting powers - via improved circulation and blood cholesterol, and by aiding in the body's insulin processing.

Encouraging news, huh ladies?

But that's only the beginning: Some Portuguese research found that compounds called polyphenols - antioxidants in wine and beer long known to have anticancer and antiviral properties - appear to significantly reduce women's risk of breast cancer.


Even the medical establishment has embraced polyphenols (antioxidant compounds in beer and wine) as powerful weapons against heart disease for people of both sexes, and all ages. But most research to date has focused on the polyphenols found in red wine, specifically a powerful one called resveratrol.

But here's an interesting note about polyphenols, courtesy of the British Beer and Pub Association: The Portuguese study mentioned above found another polyphenol called xanthohumol was actually MORE powerful than resveratrol at slowing breast cancer cell growth. And where can you get xanthohumol?

Beer!

Also according to the British suds lobby, a glass of the average beer contains only 41 calories - less then either milk or fruit juice, and far below wine's 77 calories or hard liquor's whopping 250!

That means for those watching their waistlines hoisting a daily pint or two may be the best way to go to get all the health benefits of alcohol with the minimum of caloric impact.

See ya at the bar!

M_M