It seems as though there's always some sort of study conducted to determine the affects of wine on some health issue. These studies usually fall in two broad categories with the first being the affect of overconsumption and the second being the affects of moderate consumption. Usually, with overconsumption we hear how wine correlates to stroke or coronary heart disease. Ironically, wine consumed in moderation (typically a glass a day) can help deter these adverse health issues.
Well, recently there was a study conducted and published in Stroke & Neuroepidemiology that suggests: people who drink in moderation may be able to think more clearly than those who don't drink at all, or those that drink excessively. I read about this in the latest Wine Spectator Magazine this weekend. The article entitled Drinker's Are Better Thinkers, Two Studies Suggest grabbed my attention immediately because I'm always interested to see what new "mad scientist" data is floating around out there. Wine Spectator's Jacob Gaffney mentions how this study "compared cognitive performance of nondrinkers, light drinkers, moderate drinkers, and heavy drinkers to see if alcohol consumption had any correlation to brain deterioration." The study was broken up into two parts: Neuroepidemiology and Stroke. The Neuro study, in testing cognition function of more than 7000 people, found that moderate and light drinkers had better cognition skills than excessive and non drinkers. Similarly, the Stroke study, which looked at cognition performance via blood flow to brain, found that moderate and light drinkers had better cognition than non and heavy drinkers. What's even more interesting is the individuals that showed these results were women. Men didn't perform quite as favorably.
So, not only does wine cure the common cold, help the heart, improve health related to obesity in mice, it also makes you a better thinker! I'm not saying whether or not I believe because I don't have enough information to go on. I just get a kick out of reading these tidbits on wine and health. To see specifics, read the article on Wine Spectator online (note: you do have to be a member).
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