Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Would I be healthier if I hadn't stopped drinking?

A few years ago, I went on a health kick that included losing weight, getting regular exercise and stopping drinking. As I approached age 60, I thought all this would help me live longer and with a better quality of life. For the most part, I feel much healthier.

That is until I read a New York Times story the other day. It says that people over 60 who consume moderate amounts of alcohol have a reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

So I may feel better because I don't drink, but I won't know it because I won't even know who I am. Now this could drive me back to drinking.

OK, so moderate drinking is what researchers are talking about. Does that mean one drink a night, which is seven drinks a week? No. . . it could be as many as 28 drinks a week. That means four drinks a night, every night -- seven days a week. Who are these people studying? People entering the Betty Ford Clinic?

In my day, we'd call 28 drinks a week alcoholism, not moderate drinking.

But back to the study. . . Compared with abstainers, reserachers found that male drinkers reduced their risk for dementia by 45% and women by 27%. No word on the impact of the drinking on their bodies. I'm betting they had their share of liver problems and were on a first-name basis with the cops at DUI checkpoints.

And according to my unofficial study, these moderate drinkers went through life looped on four drinks a day. Who cares if they could recognize their granchildren?

7 comments:

  1. Well, Opinionman, it seems this study is telling you to start drinking again. The only downside I can see is you won't get Alzheimer's and will know exactly how bad you feel as you age. Just kidding. I'm sure getting older will be fun.

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  2. I'm willing to do almost anything to keep my momory. Drinking more is a small price to pay to remember my kids name. Thanks for the OK to drink.

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  3. How is the shot put practice coming along?

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  4. 4 drinks a night is considered borderline binge drinking.

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  5. You have made the right choice. . . It is important to consider the ramifications of all the things you put in your body when you get as old as 60. . . As the Kaiser commercial says, "Live well and thrive." I'm a believer.

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  6. Yeah, baby. . . Be sober as you grow old and slobber all over yourself. No thanks. I'll drink my way into old age, thank you.

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