Wine News

It is already well publicised that red wine helps protecting the heart. Now scientific research has added a new discovery, claiming that it may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's too.

Researchers at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, experimented on mice with Alzheimer's-like disease, supplying a group of them with Cab. Sauvignon in their drinking water for 7 months, while the rest were given plain drinking water. The animals' wine intake was adjusted to match the legally-defined moderate human intake. Their memory was then assessed by putting the mice through a series of maze tests, after the animals had been alcohol-free. The wine-drinking mice were by far the fastest to learn how to escape from the maze. The next experiment will be on humans.

The researchers stressed that moderate consumption is a crucial factor, since excessive alcohol intake inhibits the brain from functioning properly. Red wine seems to help slowing down the build-up of amyloid plaques on brain cells that cause the Alzheimer's disease.

For those who want to keep their mind sharp, a moderate amount of red wine every day seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered -and of course always complemented by that all important healthy diet and daily exercise ...

Source: Reuters Health (27/09/06)