Moderate alcohol consumption helps cognition among women

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study shows that women who drink a moderate amount of alcohol have slightly higher levels of cognitive function.
There's ongoing debate over how alcohol consumption affects health. Now researchers at Wake Forest University reveal new data from teh Women's Health Initiative Memory Study which was set up to show the impact of hormone replacement therapy upon mental functioning.

This study shows that those who drank two to three drinks a day did better on tests of cognitive functioning than those who did not drink. The difference was greatest on vocabulary and fluency tests. It may be that alcohol has an impact on cholesterol levels or inhibits the formation of plaque in the brain. As ever, this is interesting but not advice to start drinking or to increase levels of alcohol consumption!

Source
Neuroepidemiology online 31st May 2006

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