Wine makes you wise. It also makes you happy. It makes you healthy. It also makes you skinny.
This is not fake news put out by wine drinkers to justify their favourite hobby. These are facts based on extensive scientific research. As the public health experts turn their sights on the perils of alcohol, to balance the argument a little, Winecroft insights will give coverage to the science behind some of the many good things that wine gives us starting with….wine makes you wise.
A 2014 US study tested 7000 men and women, both wine drinkers and abstainers, with a mean age of 56, on attention, learning, and memory over a course of 10 years. The results showed that wine delays cognitive decline in aging adults. In particular, red wine drinkers have a greater potential to prevent or delay cognitive decline with aging. In addition, women wine drinkers performed better than abstainers in both learning and attention tests. This finding was backed up by an earlier Alzheimer’s related study in the 1990s on 1600 older adults which concluded “In several cognitive domains, moderate, regular alcohol intake was associated with better cognitive function relative to not drinking or drinking less frequently”.
The 2014 study noted that people who drank wine also ate healthier foods, exercised more, and held a healthier body weight. So, drinking red wine is part of an overall healthier lifestyle. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that the people who were very heavy wine drinkers had the highest decline of brain power of the group. Yes, public health experts are right – moderation is key!
