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You may have heard about a study that showed older women who drink a moderate amount of alcohol each day may be keeping their minds sharp. As part of the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study to assess the effects of hormone therapy on dementia and cognitive functioning, women reported how much alcohol they drank daily.
Older women who drank moderate amounts of alcohol -- one or more drinks daily -- tended to perform better on tests for cognitive skills (concentration, language, memory and abstract reasoning) and dementia, according to researchers. Women also had a 40 percent lower risk of significant declines in cognitive function over time, compared to those who reported no alcohol intake.
The report really stops short of recommending drinking, however, because even researchers just aren't sure how alcohol, or some other unknown factor, provides such benefits. I'm quite skeptical about this finding too, and very concerned women may use this study to justify indulging in another unhealthy habit. As I've said before about studies touting all the "benefits" of drinking red wine, I do not advocate drinking red wine at all as I am convinced the alcohol itself is actually a poison and will unbalance your hormones.
In fact, drinking alcohol isn't even an issue, considering there's far healthier, safer and proven ways to fight dementia and Alzheimer's disease at your fingertips:
EurekAlert January 21, 2005