A new study published in The Lancet Medical Journal seems to indicate that daily moderate consumption of alcohol may help ward off Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.
Previous studies have already shown that daily, moderate alcohol consumption helps prevent both heart disease and stroke. Moderate consumption, (between 1 to 3 drinks per day), is one of the key phrases because the adverse effects on health of excess alcohol consumption is beyond doubt. Primary among them is the destruction of the liver but several studies have indicated that excessive alcohol consumption can be toxic to the brain (alcoholic dementia).
The new study showing that alcohol may fight Alzheimer's involved more than 5,000 people over the age of 55 and lasted for six years. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had any signs of dementia. At the end of the study, 197 of the participants developed Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia. Those who drank between 1 to 3 drinks per day had a 42% lower risk of developing dementia than the nondrinkers. Those who did not drink daily but had more than one drink per week day had a 25% lower risk of developing dementia than the nondrinkers. One final point, it did not seem to matter what people drank, (beer, wine or liquor), the effect was the same.