Drinking Is Supposedly the Key to Longevity Now, But That’ll Probably Change by Next Week

Drinking is good again, guys. A team of neurologists from the University of California, Irvine concluded that drinking two glasses of beer or wine per day decreased chances of premature death by 18 percent.

Neurologist Claudia Kawas couldn’t actually explain the link between longevity and alcohol consumption when she announced her team’s findings last week at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science conference, but she’s convinced that modest drinking improves longevity either way. Since 2003, Kawas has studied the lifestyle habits of people aged 90 and up, and while she admits there’s more research to be done, she could be on to something.

Or not. Research on alcohol is notoriously inconsistent: In November of 2017, a study by the American Society of Clinical Oncology deduced that even moderate alcohol consumption can increase one’s risk of being diagnosed with colon or breast cancer. And then there’s a study from August 2017, which claimed that moderate alcohol consumption reduces one’s risk of early death compared to not drinking at all. So, what’s the truth?

At least once a month, news organizations dish a fluff piece about some 104-year-old man from a remote Italian village who claims his secret to longevity is cigarettes and olive oil. So if you’re determined to be the subject of said fluff piece in, say, 2087, I don’t know what to tell you. But in my incredibly unprofessional opinion, a glass of wine a day probably won’t kill you. Besides, if we’re going to pick a longevity secret and run with it, let’s go with the advice of the Scottish woman who lived to the ripe ol’ age of 109 by simply staying away from men.