With so many contradictory studies, you might not be sure what to believe anymore. Is red wine good for your health or not? How does it affect older adults, and is one glass of wine a day harmful?
We will try to answer these questions in this article.
Everyone knows drinking extensive amounts of alcohol won’t do any good. Not only for older adults but for people of all age groups. It causes severe liver problems and can have an impact on the progression of other diseases as well (such as dementia). However, one glass of red wine a day won’t do any harm, will it?
The Benefits of Red Wine for Older Adults
There are at least four benefits of drinking red wine:
1) Maintaining your dental health. Yes, you read that right. The studies about the impact of red wine on dental diseases showed some positive results. Red wine is effective against Fusobacterium nucleatum, Streptococus oralis, and Actinomyces oris. Despite the encouraging results, you should still continue to brush your teeth at least twice a day.
2) Killing cells that lead to certain types of cancers. Of course a glass of red wine won’t make cancer go away, but there are some unexpected results. Since it contains resveratrol, it can help prevent your body from getting colon cancer. However, keep reading until the end of the article to see the other side of the coin.
3) Slowing memory decline. The same substance, resveratrol, can help in slowing down memory loss. On the other hand, we all know too much wine can create holes in our memory.
4) Slowing down the development of fat cells. Weight gain is a common issue in older adults, since our metabolism slows down as we age. Red wine can help that battle. Besides resveratrol, it contains piceatannol, a substance that helps in fighting extensive weight by slowing down the development and growth of fat cells. (Please note that drinking bottles and bottles of alcohol won’t make you slim and fit.)
Negative Effects of Red Wine on Older Adults
Alcohol also has numerous negative effects on seniors. The main ones are:
1) Leading to alcoholism. Drinking alcohol leads to alcoholism? Who says that?!
Joking apart, some people easily become alcoholics. One glass can lead to another. Once you dive into alcoholism, it is very difficult to get back on track. Especially for seniors, because they usually struggle to change bad habits. Alcoholism further leads to liver disease and other disorders.
2) Increasing the risk of developing certain types of cancer. Although red wine aids in the prevention of colon cancer, it has the opposite effect on the other types. Liver cancer, breast cancer, mouth cancer, throat cancer… The list goes on. This doesn’t mean you will get cancer when you drink a glass of wine, but the risk certainly becomes higher.
So is red wine good for older adults?
A glass of wine from time to time won’t hurt, but if it becomes a habit, you have a problem. Be careful and objective. If someone says you’re having too much, ask yourself whether this may be true.
For more about the benefits and risks of drinking wine for seniors, read here.
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