Alcohol Good for the Elderly

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According to All About Beer Magazine, alcohol can be a boon to the health of the elderly (All About Beer Magazine, Volume 23 Number 3,July 2002). A study conducted in New Haven, CT, between 1982-1996 found that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with decreased risk of heart failure among the elderly.

Dr. Jerome L. Abramson of Emory University and his team of researchers studied 2,235 elderly men and women with an average age of 74. They found that compared to non-drinkers, those in the group who drank at least 1.5 drinks daily had a 20-50 percent less chance to develop heart failure.

Another study on the effects of drinking alcohol and aging conducted in Germany also found that alcohol was good for the heart. Dr. Wolfgang Koenig of the University of Ulm’s German Center for Research on Aging published a report in the July 2001 issue of Epidemiology. Dr. Koenig and his researchers studied 800 men and women, one-third of whom had established heart and blood vessel problems. Blood samples were collected and the results showed that alcohol improves the balance of lipids (fats) in the blood, and reduces blood’s tendency to clot.

It turned out that alcohol drinkers had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, often called the “good” cholesterol, which is a protective form of blood fat. The alcohol drinkers also had lower levels of fibrinogen, a protein that promotes blood clots, as well as elevated levels of other molecules (platelets) that prevent the clotting and stickiness of blood cells.