After we ran the post about beer and bones, we thought we would offer up a little something about the benefits of alcohol.
You already know that red wine has heart benefits, but what does drinking have on the rest of your body? Research shows that moderate alcohol intake, no more than two drinks per day (one drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, four ounces of wine or one-and-a-half ounces of 80-proof spirits)—has a variety of healthy benefits.
Just for starters, here are three benefits:
1. Better Memory
Adults 75 years and older who have a drink or two a day end up with a 37 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who completely abstain. Alcohol may stimulate the release of acetylcholine, a brain chemical important for memory.
2. Less Inflammation
Research found that “Alcohol helps with inflammation and definitely will reduce pain,” says Alirio Melendez, MD, PhD, senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow. “Many scientists believe that a glass of wine each day may help control potential inflammatory diseases that would otherwise appear.”
3. Longer Life
Harvard researchers found that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol was linked to living longer. And red wine contains important antioxidants that could help people live longer, says study author Dimitros Trichopoulos, MD, professor of cancer prevention and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Experts agree that if you don’t drink to begin with, don’t start. But, a drink or two per day has some potential health benefits. The key word here is moderation.
Most studies found that excessive or binge drinking cancels out any healthy benefits, not to mention that it can result in a host of other serious problems, like liver damage and heart failure.
