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The Health Benefit of Alcohol for Older Adults

A new study links light to moderate drinking to improved memory

By Shelley Emling, The Huffington Post

 

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, University of Kentucky and University of Maryland found that amount of alcohol consumption was associated with better performance on tests of episodic memory among people in this age group.

What the Study Showed

 

 

Researchers also found that drinking just one or two alcoholic drinks per day was associated with a larger hippocampus, the part of the brain that's key to episodic memory — or the ability to recall details of specific events. Previous studies involving animals showed that moderate alcohol consumption can help preserve the hippocampus by promoting new cell growth in the part of the brain vital to memory skills and the nervous system.

(MORE: Drinking Alcohol: The Health Pros and Cons)

 

“Adults who are able to continue consuming alcohol into old age are healthier, and, therefore, have higher cognition and larger regional brain volumes, than people who had to decrease their alcohol consumption due to unfavorable health outcomes,” said lead study author Brian Downer from the University of Texas in a press release.

What the Study Did Not Show

 

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Downer added that the amount of alcohol consumption had no impact on overall mental ability.

 

It’s important to note that researchers only found an association between light to moderate alcohol consumption in older age and memory performance; the study did not establish a causal link between the two.

 

Although the potential benefits of light to moderate alcohol consumption to cognitive learning and memory later in life have been consistently reported, extended periods of alcohol abuse — often defined as having five or more alcoholic beverages during a single drinking occasion — is known to be harmful to the brain and overall health.

Indeed, a recent study conducted by the University of Exeter Medical School found that older adults with a history of problem drinking in midlife were more than twice as likely to have severe cognitive and memory impairment than those who didn't. Another study published in 2014 by the University College London found that men who are moderate or heavy alcohol drinkers can show signs of cognitive impairment up to six years faster than those who drink lightly or abstain altogether.

 

Shelley Emling is Senior Editor at Huff/Post50. She previously was AOL's Montclair Patch editor and also has served for several years as a foreign correspondent for the Cox Newspaper chain both in Europe and Latin America.

Shelley Emling, The Huffington Post Read More
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