Scientists were shocked by a new discovery: drinking for the elderly is more useful than sports
British researchers summed up many years of serious work and puzzled everyone with an unexpected discovery. It turns out that for an elderly person, a glass of wine is much more useful than physical exercise. The study, codenamed "90+ Study", began in 2003 and it became a continuation of the project "Short Study of the Leisure World" (LWCS), which started back in 1981.
Scientists have studied the lives of elderly people over the age of 90 in detail to understand what factors allowed them to live longer than others. The researchers were interested not only in the habits and features of the lifestyle characteristic of centenarians,but also how they affected their health.
In addition to surveys, scientists also conducted medical examinations of the elderly, and twice a year performed neurophysiological and neurological tests. Thanks to the painstaking work of the project participants, it was possible to find common features in the life of centenarians, which can be considered with a high degree of probability as the reasons for their long life.
Almost all elderly people who crossed the threshold of the 90th anniversary admitted to the researchers that they never disdained a glass of good wine. This does not mean that they drank a whole bottle for dinner. The optimal dose of wine for a person over the age of 65 is one glass of wine. For those who have not reached 65 years of age — two glasses of wine a day.
Not only wine has a beneficial effect on the body, but also other weak alcoholic beverages, such as beer. Observing a sense of proportion is the key to success, according to both the elderly themselves and the scientists who conducted the research.
First of all, drinking moderately, a person significantly reduces the likelihood of an ischemic stroke. Diabetes is also less threatening for those who have not denied themselves the pleasure of drinking light alcohol. The probability of death from cardiovascular diseases decreases, respectively, the risk of dying from heart problems also decreases.
An article on the results of the study, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, says that the fact that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial does not cancel out the positive effect of physical activity on the body.
Dr. Emmanuel Stamatakis, who led the research, collected data on 36,370 elderly people living in England and Scotland over the years. All these people were divided into groups, in one of which there were those who avoid physical exertion, in the second — lovers of moderate activity and in the third those who regularly engaged in sports.
After studying the deaths of 5,735 people that occurred over 10 years, scientists determined the relationship between activity, alcohol consumption and the risk of death from one cause or another. It turned out that wine lovers who knew the measure, who did not avoid sports exercises, lived longer than those who refused alcohol and those who abused it.
It was also determined that the more alcohol consumed per week, the more likely death from cancer is. Malignant neoplasms were the second most important cause of death of elderly people in the study groups.
Based on this verified information, it can be argued that by leading an active life and at the same time not denying yourself the joy of having a glass of wine, you can live longer than abstaining from alcohol and sports or only doing physical exercises, but avoiding alcohol. A good confirmation of this truth is Francisco Nunes — the oldest man on Earth.
Keywords: Alcohol | Great britain | Wine | Centenarians | Research | Doctors