Click to be +/- on this low volume wine ping list. This is a collateral oenology news ping.
Posted on 07/24/2006 9:42:27 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
A STUDY of men and women age 70 to 79 found that those who downed one to seven alcoholic drinks a week had a significantly lower risk of heart problems or death than those who did not imbibe, researchers said today.
Why the apparent protective effect exists is not clear, the report from the US Institute on Ageing and the University of Florida said, but it does not appear to be related to speculation that alcohol consumption has an anti-inflammatory effect.
The study involved 2487 men and women, without heart disease and between the ages of 70 and 79, who were recruited into a study in 1997 and 1998. They were followed for five years with blood tests.
The study found that "light to moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a 26 per cent reduced risk of all-cause mortality and almost 30 per cent reduced risk of cardiac events" such as heart attacks, compared to non-drinkers, the report said.
Light to moderate consumption was defined as one to seven drinks a week, with a "drink" being either one can of beer, a glass of wine or a mixed drink with one shot of liquor.
"Our findings provide evidence of a cardio-protective effect and survival benefit of light to moderate alcohol consumption among older people," said the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
It added that the anti-inflammatory effect of consumption at those levels "does not appear to explain these beneficial effects" which "may vary as a function of sex, race and background cardiovascular risk."
Recommendations on alcohol consumption should be based "on a careful evaluation of an individual's risks and benefits in the context of adequate treatment and control of established cardiovascular risk factors", it concluded.
Bottoms Up!!!
I'm saving this as a screen saver so my wife can see it when she logs on in the morning...
I think I'm "paid up" thru age 2,843 give or take a Century or two. Gotta keep adding years. Salud!
It's all very simple: if one could get one's blood level [sustainably] at, say, 86 proof, then no bugs would survive the contact. Witness Ted Kennedy. The only side effect is that excessively spiritual people become flammable.
Click to be +/- on this low volume wine ping list. This is a collateral oenology news ping.
But the doctors will allow only the healthy ones to drink at all.
I gave up drinking 25 years ago when I decided it was either give up flying or drinking
I guess next year when I turn 70 it's time to start again, maybe the one a day so I can keep flying.
My dad in the mid 80's, he drinks almost everyday through out his life. I told him if he's aware of drinking is good for you, he only said "I only drink for the taste, son..." Duh!!!
Well... light to moderate alcohol consumption also means that a person is somewhat less likely to be a stuffy old tight@ss. It makes sense that this could be hazardous to one's overall health. :-)
It's good for you ping!
from personal experience, my opinion is that alcohol acts as a diuretic.
that is, drink and then you pee a lot which lowers your blood pressure.
I'll be 70 in 32 years, I better get to practicing.
I figure I'm getting a head start, as well!
See my Anon name....
Hic...Prost Eins!
My question would be -- getting this discussion on a more realistic plane -- would there be any benefit from 1 to 7 drinks a day?
ping
It's more likely that a person who can limit their intake to one or two drinks a day is a person who will live longer IMHO.
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