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Drinking Smartly
By Bonnie Jenkins, Advanced Natural Medicine Bulletin
This time of year, many of us find ourselves in the midst of holiday parties and family get-togethers – and, more often than not, festive food is accompanied by alcoholic beverages. So should you indulge in that glass of wine or champagne? Absolutely! Numerous studies have vaulted the health benefits of red wine to near-legendary status. One reason is because of a particular polyphenol called resveratrol, a potent antioxidant that can protect against heart disease by reducing the stickiness of the plaque that travels through your arteries.
But researchers have also found that the alcohol itself can have health benefits, and not just for your heart. It turns out that drinking alcohol – any alcohol – in moderation can also help protect you from Alzheimer’s disease.
The cognition cocktail
The study by scientists at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands shows that a daily drink or two helps ward off Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. And it doesn't seem to matter what people drink – the effect is the same for beer, wine or hard liquor.
During the six-year study of 7,983 healthy people over the age of 55, the participants were asked whether they ever drank alcohol. Those who said yes were quizzed on what they drank and how often. Not surprisingly – most of the men drank either beer or hard liquor while the women preferred a nice glass of wine. The researchers then categorized the subjects according to how much they drank. Four or more drinks a day was considered heavy drinking.
By the end of the study, 197 of the participants had developed Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. Those who fared best were people who drank between one and three drinks a day. They had a 42 percent lower risk of developing dementia than the nondrinkers. Among those who weren't daily drinkers, the people who had more than one drink per week had a 25 percent lower risk and those who drank less than a glass a week were 18 percent less likely than nondrinkers to develop dementia than people who didn’t drink at all.
After evaluating the findings, the researchers suggest that the blood-thinning and cholesterol-lowering properties of alcohol may go beyond heart health to ward off dementia, which is often caused by a blood vessel problem. Another possibility is that low levels of alcohol could stimulate the release acetylcholine, a brain chemical believed to facilitate learning and memory.
The older the better
This isn’t the only study to validate the perks of drinking. According to new findings by Swedish investigators, middle age and elderly people who drink alcohol – any type of alcohol – stay smarter longer. After testing more than 1,300 people over 21 years, they discovered that the tea-totallers among the group scored poorly on tests measuring memory, psychomotor speed and decision-making skills than those who drank either occasionally or daily. And the effect just got worse with age.
When tested late in life, the non-drinkers test scores deteriorated even more. But, while this study didn’t look into how much alcohol produced the best cognitive function, a group of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has. They’ve found that people who drink minimally – a drink or two a week – have better memory and learning skill than either frequent drinkers or abstainers. Those who have a drink every day don’t fare quite as well, but still considerably better than nondrinkers.
So, go ahead – have a glass of bubbly or other alcoholic beverage. It just may be one of the smartest things you could do to ring in the New Year.
One last thing . . .
Although this research didn’t look at the impact heavy drinking had on cognitive function, several studies show that excessive drinking is toxic to the brain. Alcoholics, binge drinkers and others who drink very heavily can literally end up with a shrunken brain, a condition which is linked to dementia. There is even a medical condition called alcoholic dementia. Beyond the brain, long-term overindulging destroys the liver, raises blood pressure, boosts the stress hormone cortisol, inhibits the formation of new bone cells and can even upset the body’s ‘biological clock.’ Clearly, people who can’t limit their intake should not drink, despite the benefits.
Another group that should never, ever drink is pregnant women. Yes, we’ve all heard the warnings – but since the consequences can be so dire, it bears repeating. Along with fetal alcohol syndrome, drinking while pregnant can cause heart defects and change the thyroid function, reducing the levels of thyroid hormone in both the mother and fetus. And at least one study shows a possible link between drinking and ADHD. Bottom line: Booze and babies never mix so it’s wise to refrain until after the birth and breast-feeding are done.
Others who should avoid alcohol include people taking certain medications like antidepressants or those with specific health conditions. If in doubt, talk to your doctor before indulging in that beer or martini.
This just in . . .
The war between HRT and natural remedies for the symptoms of menopause rages on. This time, the government has taken aim at black cohosh – an effective herb that can reduce the number and severity of hot flashes. According to the National Institutes of Health, “Black cohosh used alone or as part of a multi-botanical supplement shows little potential as an important therapy for relief of hot flashes.” Excuse me?
The year-long double-blind study, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, involved 351 women between the ages of 45 and 55 who were randomly assigned to take one of five treatments: Black cohosh alone; a botanical supplement containing black cohosh, alfalfa, boron, chaste tree, dong quai, false unicorn, licorice, oats, pomegranate and Siberian ginseng; the multi-botanical supplement plus soy foods; HRT; or a placebo. The women were then evaluated after three, six and 12 months. At the end of the study, the researchers reported that the herbal supplements only reduced the occurrence of the hot flashes by a little more than one-half a flash per day. On the other hand, the women receiving the hormone therapy significantly reduced the number of hot flushes by about four episodes per day when compared to placebo.
Score one for HRT? I don’t think so. While on the surface, the study looks well designed, it isn’t. First, it didn’t involve nearly enough women. Second – and most importantly – they didn’t give the women a large enough dose of black cohosh! Even though the recommended dose of this effective herb is 750 mg. per day divided into three doses, this study only gave the women between 160 and 200 mg. per day – or about one quarter of the dose needed to relieve those uncomfortable, often embarrassing hot flashes.
So before you take this irresponsible study at face value, remember that study after study has shown that HRT increases the risk of both breast cancer and heart disease. Sure it’s effective for hot flashes, but the long-term risks far outweigh the short-term benefits. As for black cohosh, more than 3,000 women have been randomized for clinical trials using the herb for hot flashes and the weight of the evidence from those studies has been overwhelmingly positive.
While black cohosh may not work for every women experiencing peri-menopause, I can tell you from personal experience that it’s one of the best natural tools for cooling the heat. And, take heart, those pesky hot flashes don’t last forever.
Have a safe and healthy New Year!
***
References:
Ganguli M, Vander Bilt J, Saxton JA, et al. “Alcohol consumption and cognitive function in late life: a longitudinal community study.” Neurology. 2005;65:1210-1217.
Ngandu T, Helkala EL, Soininen H, et al. “Alcohol Drinking and Cognitive Functions: Findings from the Cariovascular Risk Factors Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) Study.” Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 2006; 23:140-149.
Newton KM, Reed SD, LaCroix AZ, et al. “Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms of Menopause with Black Cohosh, Multibotanicals, Soy, Hormonal Therapy, or Placebo: A Randomized Trial.” 2006;145: 869-879.
Ruitenberg A, van Swieten JC, Witteman JC, et al. “Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia: the Rotterdam Study.” Lancet. 2002;359:281-6.
Sammartino A, Tommaselli GA, Gargano V, et al. “Short-term effects of a combination of isoflavones, lignans and Cimicifuga racemosa on climacteric-related symptoms in postmenopausal women: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.” Gynecological Endocrinology. 2006 Nov;22(11):646-650. |
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