When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading  

But then I came across and article that claimed that my drinking can actually lower my risk of developing Alzheimer’s and benefit the brain.  I’ll tell you more after I go and get a refill. 

Over all, moderate drinkers were 23 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or signs of serious memory problems than non-drinkers. Wine seemed to have more benefits than other alcoholic drinks in some reports, though many of the studies did not distinguish the types of alcohol ingested. 

“This study is not the final word, but it does provide the most complete picture out there,” said study author Michael A. Collins, Ph.D., of Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine. The researchers looked at data from143 studies from more than 365,000 participants around the world. The findings appeared in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 

Moderate alcohol consumption is typically defined as no more than one drink a day for women and one to two drinks for men, and no more than 7 to 14 drinks per week. A drink is defined as 5 ounces of wine, a 12-ounce beer or 1.5 ounces of vodka or other spirits. 

Many health practitioners recommend a glass of red wine a day to promote health benefits. But what about beer?  

A recent study (2015) published by researchers at Lanzhou University in China explores the possibility that beer may also promote health. The article, titled “Xanthohumol, a Polyphenol Chalcone Present in Hops, Activating Nrf2 Enzymes to Confer Protection against Oxidative Damage in PC12 Cells,” appeared in  the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, published by  the American Chemical Society. 

The traditional Mediterranean diet, which includes foods like fish, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and red wine, has also been linked to a lower risk for Alzheimer’s.  Researchers have also reported that imbibing a daily glass or wine or other alcoholic drink may slow the progression to Alzheimer’s in people with mild cognitive impairment, a form of memory loss that sometimes precedes the disease. 

“But I’ll wash that diet of fruit and vege’s with a pint, thanks” 

PS.  Did I tell you that chocolate grows on trees so should be considered as a fruit and that they keep on telling us to eat more fruit! 

https://www.alzinfo.org/articles/moderate-drinking-reduce-alzheimers-risk/