Learn More Here:
Money Making Secrets of Mind Power Masters

CURRENT ISSUE

PAST ISSUES

MIND POWER BLOG

HEADLINES

Evidence is mounting that moderate alcohol intake can fight age-related cognitive decline.

Mark Espeland of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and colleagues have provided support for a study published just a few days ago showing that a drink a day keeps cognitive decline away.

"In our study, older women who drank moderate amounts of alcohol tended to perform better on tests for cognitive function and dementia," says Espeland. "Most of these women drank one or two drinks per day."

Drink a day
Using data from the large Nurses' Health Study, the study published a few days ago showed that older women who consumed one drink per day had less cognitive impairment than nondrinkers.

The research by Espeland and colleagues used data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, a large US study assessing the effects of hormone therapy on dementia and cognitive decline.

As part of the study, women reported their alcohol intake.

A total of 4,461 women aged 65 to 79 years were followed for an average of 4.2 years.

The researchers used cognitive testing to correlate alcohol intake with such things as concentration, language, memory and abstract reasoning.

Risk reduced 40%
The researchers found that women who reported having one or more drinks per day had a 40% lower risk of significant cognitive decline over time compared to women who reported not drinking at all.

The findings held even when the researchers accounted for such factors as education level and family income.

Espeland says that there are several reasons why this might be so, including:

* Alcohol may reduce the development of blood clots and increase blood flow, helping prevent strokes that arise from blocked blood vessels in the brain.
* Alcohol tends to increase levels of high-density lipoprotein, or "good" cholesterol, which could reduce the risk for narrowed blood vessels in the brain.
* Alcohol may decrease the formation of plaque that is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Espeland cautions, however, that while evidence for alcohol's cognitive benefit is growing, it's still not clear whether alcohol intake or something else is responsible.

However, he says, "My sense is that for older women who choose to drink—and are not restricted from drinking for medical reasons—moderate alcohol intake is not harmful for cognition and may provide some benefits by reducing the risk of cognitive decline."

The research will be reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

SOURCE: www.BetterHumans.com

More headlines at www.mindpowernews.com