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An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia

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SarahHeartburn
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia

Boozers like us will be happy to know that gift companies are marketing extra large wine glasses that hold .750 liters, or, that is, a whole freakin bottle of wine. Which fits in perfectly with my drink plan.

I'm expecing that their next product will be sweat pants with extra give on the right side to account for enlarged livers. God, I love American ingenuity!
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janiejones56
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
Is it wine that keeps your brain good, or is it alcohol? 'Cause I'd way rather have my vodka.
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Fridge Hussy : Is finally heading back to uni!
12/28/08

@janiejones56:

The researcher's quotes say "alcohol," but the reporter writes about wine specifically in the piece. Is that because it's what teh ladieez drink? I'd really like a link to the actual research.
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CherriSpryte
12/28/08

@janiejones56: That was my question! And the article linked here has "wine" in the title, but everywhere else it says "alcohol" - If this has something to do with, say, tannins, and not the magic of all booze, i will have a sad.
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Penny
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
This is interesting, because my boyfriend's grandmother has the Big A and we have to really, really monitor her drinking because she drinks wine like water. So, there must be a bell curve, eh?
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LaComtesse
12/28/08

@Penny Plastic (Archetype): I'd imagine a lot of people with Alzheimers are at risk because they don't remember how much they have had to drink in a sitting, so they are at risk of getting drunk or ODing more than your average drunk person.
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Penny
12/28/08

@LaComtesse: In her case, she's always been a drinker and not eaten much. Both are hard to monitor now that she's sick.
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catxox
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
There were actually two studies that recently came out about dementia/Alzheimer's. One is about drinking red wine and the other is about smoking pot! [www.alternet.org]
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shorty63136
12/29/08

@catxox: I don't really like wine (it's just so bitter), so can I substitute it with a spliff and a cognac?
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Jello Mix
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
Sadly, no one in my family has ever lived to age 65, let alone 70 or 80. Happily, our short life expectancy is very effective at preventing dementia. I expect to be doing crossword puzzles right up until my massive heart attack strikes.
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BowlingForDollars
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
In other words, drinking an entire bottle on your own and then running down the street screaming, "I'm fixing my memooooryyyy!" probably isn't going to win you any points in the medical community.

So much for last night.
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Jello Mix
12/28/08

@BowlingForDollars: So much for my entire grad school experience.
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hortense
12/28/08

@BowlingForDollars: I hear Maker's Mark keeps awesomeness intact well into one's 90's. I'm just sayin.
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jemandtheholograms
12/28/08

@hortense: In that case, I'm adding a Maker's Mark script to my collection of fun scripts I came up with last week
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tscheese
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
I wonder if it has to do with exercising your neural connections or somesuch. Even a little bit of booze can impair your response time and judgment. But maybe over time, with moderate, non-brain-pickling amounts of alcohol, your brain compensates for that. Which means you perform better than non-drinkers because you're always exercising your mind.

Move over, Sudoku and Brain Age! I need to exercise my mind with some pinot noir, stat!
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la.donna.pietra
12/28/08

@tscheese: It also reminded me of something a good mathematician friend says on a regular basis at the bar: "I'm killing off the weak brain cells so that the strong ones will just get stronger!" Obviously, he's joking, but perhaps there's something to it.
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sportz.star
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
A bottle of wine isn't a single serving? I'm think I'm not understanding the "drink wine" but "not the whole bottle." Maybe I should check with my doctor.
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PilgrimSoul
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
In all seriousness, dementia is like my worst nightmare. I don't have a lot in my life that's not cerebral/intellectual. I feel like when I get to the point where my brains are gone I don't know what my life would be worth. Obviously I don't mean to be insensitive to those of you who have family members going through this; I do too. Just, man, my life is so text-based, y'know?
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sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
12/28/08

@PilgrimSoul: As someone who does have a family member going through this, I don't think you're being insensitive at all. My dad is wrestling with the reality of the fears you mention. The observation about your life being text-based hits home, since my dad can no longer do a lot of things that deal with written words and numbers.
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Maritsa
12/28/08

@PilgrimSoul: It's mine too. On one hand maybe I wouldn't realize it so it wouldn't be so bad, but I feel like at least occasionally I would remember what I had lost and just feel despair. And I wouldn't want to be a burden to my loved ones. My father died after two years of cancer and at the end he had no idea what was going on - it was awful.
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ngoandy
12/28/08

@PilgrimSoul: A friend of my has a family member suffering from dementia.

The person rereads their books over and over. They are retired and will spend all day reading a book, but then forget they had read it and will start again as if it is a fresh book.
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PilgrimSoul
12/28/08

@ngoandy: there's a Charlie Kaufman movie in that.

See, I kind of feel like there are people whose lives are still valuable because the things they take the most pleasure in - say, being with friends/family - are not dependent on their brains so much as their hearts, so to speak. Although I realize eventually the "heart" part of your brain goes too, it seems to go later.
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LaComtesse
12/28/08

@PilgrimSoul: I don't think so--it's a horrible thing to deal with. My recently passed great grandfather dealt with it the last couple years of his life. He would just be sitting and smiling one moment and crying the next. When asked why, he would say it was because he just remembered that my great grandmother, his wife of 67 years, was dead. This happened every day at least once.
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sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
12/28/08

@PilgrimSoul: What's really interesting is that as my dad is no longer able to focus on purely cerebral pursuits, he is forced to take a harder look at his family life because that is what he is more reliant on now than he has ever been. It was strange this Christmas, he was a much more emotional creature than ever before. It's as if he realizes he can't bury himself in research and writing and has to access his feelings in a way that was not required before.
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Penny
12/28/08

@PilgrimSoul: My worst fear is my dad developing it. He's totally an absentminded professor and I love him to death. I don't think I could handle him not knowing who I am.
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squirrelcop
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
So, this is almost like a prescription. All those airlines yesterday that were out of wine were keeping me from my MEDICATION. Watch out, United and American, I'm getting my attorney on the line!
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tscheese
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
So "occasional tipple" doesn't mean "entire bottle of wine by yourself on Sunday afternoon/evening"?

...Damn.
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whats_in_a_name
12/28/08

@tscheese: The trick as the article stated is in finding the line between a tipple and a topple.
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jemandtheholograms
12/28/08

@whats_in_a_name: vowel substitution is a minor detail
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Ultraprison!
12/28/08

@tscheese: i'm still waiting for a medical breakthrough that comes to that conclusion. who's healthy NOW???
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sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
So this only works for women? I kind of hope so, as my Alzheimer's-riddled father does not need any more excuses to indulge his drinking problem.
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sportz.star
12/28/08

@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (and the ovumlord of the rings): And on the flip side, my teetotaler grandmother should have gotten off her high horse and maybe staved off her early-onset Alzheimers
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BlondeGrlz
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
I'm pretty much doomed since both my maternal grandparents have dementia, but still love a good medical reason to drink. They aren't kidding about the excess consumption not helping though - Grandma's been chugging wine for years and still ended up in assisted memory care.
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LucilleMcGillicuddy
12/28/08

In reply to An Occasional "Tipple" Of Wine May Stave Off Dementia
Well, since I'm about to be 44, I have a lot of catching up to do.

**pop**

**glug, glug, glug**
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