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GOOD NEWS! - Alcohol sharpens your brain, say researchers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/01/nalco01.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/08/01/ixportal.html ^

Posted on 11/17/2004 7:49:14 AM PST by BritishBulldog

Alcohol sharpens your brain, say researchers By Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent (Filed: 01/08/2004)

It is news guaranteed to raise a cheer among those who enjoy a glass or two: drinking half a bottle of wine a day can make your brain work better, especially if you are a woman.

Research to be published tomorrow by academics at University College London has found that those who even drink only one glass of wine a week have significantly sharper thought processes than teetotallers.

Sir Michael Marmot of UCL led the study The benefits of alcohol, which are thought to be linked to its effect on the flow of blood to the brain, can be detected when a person drinks up to 30 units of alcohol - about four to five bottles of wine - per week.

The researchers were unable to test the effect of higher levels of alcohol consumption, although drunkenness probably negates any positive effects on the brain.

The findings have surprised health officials, who issued yet another warning last week about the dangers of overdrinking.

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics, one in six women now drinks more than the Government's recommended limit of 14 units of alcohol a week - an increase of 70 per cent since the late 1980s. The recommended maximum weekly intake for men is 21 units.

The latest findings on the benefits of alcohol are drawn from a study of the long-term health of 10,000 British civil servants. Known as the Whitehall Study, it was originally set up in 1967 to identify links between health and factors ranging from smoking and obesity to age and social status.

In the latest research, a team led by Sir Michael Marmot, a professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London, gave psychometric tests to more than 6,000 civil servants.

The questions ranged from verbal and mathematical reasoning problems to tests of short-term memory. The civil servants' performance was then matched against their drinking habits.

The study took into account all alcohol consumption and was not specific to wine. However, the results showed that those having even a single glass of wine a week scored significantly higher in the tests than more abstemious drinkers. Teetotallers were twice as likely as occasional drinkers to achieve the lowest scores.

The benefits were most marked among women drinkers and, to the researchers' surprise, showed no sign of flattening out with increasing consumption.

Those who downed the equivalent of half a bottle of wine or two pints of beer a day scored best of all. The effects were apparent even after the results had been adjusted to take into account factors such as physical and mental health.

"Our results appear to suggest some specificity in the association between alcohol consumption and cognitive ability," said the team. "Frequent drinking may be more beneficial than drinking only on special occasions."

The team, whose findings are being reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology, suggests that the results may reflect the fact that alcohol can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and increase blood flow to the brain - factors linked to improved mental function.

The researchers also speculate that women might benefit more because of the different way in which they metabolise alcohol. However, they acknowledge that the benefits of alcohol can be outweighed by the increased risks of getting diseases such as cancer and cirrhosis, and that the findings should not be used as an excuse for heavier drinking.

Dr Guy Ratcliffe, the medical director of the Medical Council on Alcohol, said that the study would add to earlier evidence that moderate drinking could be beneficial - offering advantages such as a reduced risk of heart disease and strokes.

"This is a well-researched study, and it's important that information such as this is available so that people can make informed decisions about alcohol consumption," he said.

Kate Winstanley, the policy director of the Portman Group, set up by the industry to promote responsible drinking, welcomed the findings.

"There is a lot of concern about trends in women's drinking, especially young women, but the concern is chiefly about women who drink to get drunk. This study does seem to support the view that moderate drinking is better than none at all," she said.

The University College team is now hoping to continue the study to investigate whether alcohol can help slow the decline of mental function as people grow older. A recent American study suggested that drinkers suffered significantly less cognitive decline with age than teetotallers, with women again showing the greatest benefit.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alcohol; brain; health
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To: HankReardon
Comparing coffee and tea to alcohol and other drugs, you have to admit is quite a stretch. If you keep on stretching, drugs could probably be found in the natural foods we eat.

I have consumed alcohol and caffeine at a pretty constant high-moderate level for a number of years. I can give up alcohol without any problems (e.g., during lent); but get headaches by midday if I don't drink coffee.

The problem is that in many parts of the world a ghastly form of puritanism has made many consider alcohol to be an extreme boogyman. On the contrary, it has been a constant part of the human diet for millennia. Certainly more so than caffeine.

My point was (effectively) that to call those who consume alcohol 'drug-users' was to apply a pejorative label to those who are doing that which is perfectly normal - in effect stretching the label. Perhaps you have proved my point.
101 posted on 11/17/2004 11:37:10 AM PST by tjwmason ("The English, the English, the English are best; I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest")
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To: BritishBulldog
... drinking half a bottle of wine a day can make your brain work better, especially if you are a woman.

I have known this for years. Once women have had at least half a bottle of wine, they realize that I am a charming, witty, and incredibly sexy man and they must have me.

That's smart!

102 posted on 11/17/2004 11:40:46 AM PST by spodefly (I've posted nothing but BTTT over 1000 times!!!)
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To: BritishBulldog
The researchers were unable to test the effect of higher levels of alcohol consumption...

BtD here, reporting for duty...

103 posted on 11/17/2004 11:43:49 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: tjwmason
I agree wholeheartedly with your post. I frequently enjoy a beer or glass of wine with my dinner and occasionally few rounds in a pub with my friends.

However I have friends who think that I'm just one misstep away from becoming an alcoholic, or who think that my thought process is somehow greatly impaired by the one pint of beer I have consumed. For an example look at post #35 where wiz makes it sound like if I'm not careful one day I'll slip and and kill myself or someone else.

I too get irritated by flagrant displays of public intoxication, but I get just as irritated by non-drinkers that expect me to behave the same way after a beer or two.

The fact that alcohol is abused by some does not mean that it is impossible to consume alcohol in a safe and responsible fashion.

-paridel
104 posted on 11/17/2004 12:39:07 PM PST by Paridel
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To: BritishBulldog
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” - Benjamin Franklin
105 posted on 11/17/2004 12:53:26 PM PST by Mad Dawgg (French: old Europe word meaning surrender)
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To: spodefly
"Once women have had at least half a bottle of wine, they realize that I am a charming, witty, and incredibly sexy man and they must have me."

"I drink to make other people interesting." - George Jean Nathan

106 posted on 11/17/2004 12:57:41 PM PST by Mad Dawgg (French: old Europe word meaning surrender)
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To: cjshapi

I must be a bloomin' genius!


107 posted on 11/17/2004 1:02:59 PM PST by Junior (FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC)
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To: Junior

After the day I've had I'm gonna go home and add about 30 points to my IQ!


108 posted on 11/17/2004 1:05:46 PM PST by cjshapi
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To: Licensed-To-Carry

Prolly dance better too. :)


109 posted on 11/17/2004 2:25:51 PM PST by NormB (Yes, but watch your cookies!!)
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To: HEY4QDEMS; BritishBulldog

Youall may think you are joking, but I found, as a military officer and a manager, I could divide my people up into three groups1

1. Alcholics
2. Normals
3. Pot Heads

And as far as performance went (generalizing, to be sure) the alcoholics were always normally my best performers. Most all the time, but then every now and then they wouldn't make it to work at all.

2. The Normals, were, well 'normal' in performance.
elly
3. And the 'pot heads' were, well, "Duhhhhh !!!!", basically completely worthless.


110 posted on 11/17/2004 2:27:32 PM PST by XBob (Free-traitors steal our jobs for their profit.)
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To: tjwmason

Defending and rationalizing one's drug use is very common.


111 posted on 11/17/2004 4:54:49 PM PST by HankReardon
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To: ahayes

Did I read this article right? Is it talking about women drinking four or five bottles a WEEK?!


112 posted on 11/17/2004 4:55:57 PM PST by utahagen
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To: theFIRMbss

LOL!


113 posted on 11/17/2004 4:59:04 PM PST by Zack Nguyen
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To: Publius

" (Spanish) champagne "

No such thing exists....Spanish call it Cava....Frenchies won't allow anything NOT from the Champagne region to be called champagne.....which is why most other areas call it "sparkling white".....

I had a tasty Cava election night too!!


114 posted on 11/17/2004 5:03:21 PM PST by Feiny (Scream if you love silence.)
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To: feinswinesuksass

I know. The brand was Freixenet, but most folks see any sparking white wine as "champagne".


115 posted on 11/17/2004 5:04:29 PM PST by Publius
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To: utahagen

Well, I am doing my fair share!!!


"A bottle a day keeps the soberness away"
~Feiny


116 posted on 11/17/2004 5:06:09 PM PST by Feiny (Scream if you love silence.)
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To: BritishBulldog
I know this article is true.

After I drink few 6 packs I am an expert on EVERYTHING.
Ask anybody who knows me.

117 posted on 11/17/2004 5:08:46 PM PST by Jorge
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To: HankReardon

Benefits of Drinking Outweigh Harm from Abuse
by David J. Hanson, Ph. D.

Research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reveals that the benefits of moderate drinking outweigh the harms from abusive drinking.

The NIAAA calculates that if all drinkers in the U.S. became abstainers, there would be an additional 80,000 deaths per year. Abstaining dramatically increases the risks of heart attack, ichemic stroke, and many other diseases and life-threatening conditions.

The CDC calculates that abusive drinking lead to about 75,766 deaths from all causes in 2001, a number that continues to decline. Therefore, these analyses indicate that moderate alcohol consumption saves more lives than are lost as a result of alcohol abuse.

This has been found in other countries as well. For example, light and moderate drinking saves more lives in England and Wales than are lost through the abuse of alcohol according to scientists at the University of London.

The researchers determined that if everyone abstained from alcohol, death rates would be significantly higher. In the words of the lead author, "alcohol saves more lives than it costs."

Other researchers, led by Dr. Ian White, found that, in the United Kingdom, 15,080 deaths were prevented through the use of alcohol, while 13,216 were caused by its abuse. Thus, the use of alcohol led to a net gain of 1,864 lives.



118 posted on 11/17/2004 5:10:07 PM PST by Feiny (Scream if you love silence.)
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To: AnnaZ; HangFire

See, we have nothing to feel guilty about.....wee....at least about drinking wine.


119 posted on 11/17/2004 5:11:27 PM PST by Feiny (Scream if you love silence.)
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To: BritishBulldog
drinking half a bottle of wine a day can make your brain work better, especially if you are a woman.

sounds rather sexist to me...

120 posted on 11/17/2004 5:12:14 PM PST by mlocher (america is a sovereign state)
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