I have a very odd feeling this morning, about the ‘science’ post I propose to give you. Odd, Because I’m presenting polemically opposing views from two different teams of scholarly investigators that come to totally different conclusions about the same issue. But I leave it to you, dear readers, to decide who’s right…
‘Light to moderate’ Alcohol consumption may be beneficial in preserving cognitive
function in middle-aged and older adults. But use common sense and err on
the side of moderation when deciding whether to refill your glass…
First, the ‘good news’
Researchers at the University of Georgia (UGA) say their latest study findings suggest that ‘light to moderate’ alcohol consumption may be beneficial to supporting cognitive functions among middle-aged and older adults.
“We know there are some older people who believe that drinking a little wine everyday could maintain a good cognitive condition,” says study report Lead Author Ruiyuan Zhang, a doctoral student at UGA’s College of Public Health. “We wanted to know if drinking a small amount of alcohol actually correlates with a good cognitive function, or is it just a kind of survivor bias.”
While such studies have been done before, they had not taken into account changes over long periods of time. Zhang and his team examined data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS).
According to an abstract of the UGA study report, : “A total of 19,887 participants completed surveys every two years about their health and lifestyle, including questions on drinking habits. Light to moderate drinking is defined as fewer than eight drinks per week for women and 15 drinks or fewer per week among men. […] These participants also had their cognitive function measured in a series of tests looking at their overall mental status, word recall and vocabulary. Their test results were combined to form a total cognitive score.”
Zhang and his team found that, compared to non-drinkers, those who had a drink or two a day tended to perform better on cognitive tests over time: “Even when other important factors known to impact cognition such as age, smoking or education level were controlled for, they saw a pattern of light drinking associated with high cognitive trajectories.
But he’s quick to point out that folks who drink less than that should not start drinking more. And he adds that folks who don’t drink at all should not take his study results as a recommendation that they should start.
Now, the bad news
Meanwhile, a team led by Dr. Adam Sherk of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria in British Columbia (UV) cautions that that, “moderate drinkers ‘are not insulated from harm’.”
According to a Study recently reported on in this space, Sherk suggests that official alcohol consumption guidelines may be too high, and should reduced to the more conservative levels now in place in The Netherlands.
About the only think Sherk and his colleagues agree on with Zhang and his UGA team is, “Don’t drink. Or, if you do, drink no more than one drink per day. […] When it comes to alcohol use, less is better.”
My take
Faithful readers of this blog will be able to guess what’s coming: Just use your common sense to help you decide how much liquid happiness is enough – or appropriate. And take special note that drinking has been observed to increase significantly during the current COVID-19 lock down. Don’t self-prescribe extra booze to help alleviate the effects of cabin fever, boredom or elevated anxiety.
As I often do in situations like this, I hasten to quote the late, great Julia Child who said: “All things in moderation – including moderation.” Which, in this context, could be interpreted as, “Going a little overboard once in a while probably won’t hurt, but don’t make a habit of it.”
~ Maggie J.