Here’s a possible pick-up line for all you boys at the bar: Did you know moderate wine consumption is associated with better cognitive function? Female wine drinkers, and male wine and beer drinkers, score better on thinking tests than teetotalers. That’s according to a study published in Acta Neurologica Scandinavica that followed the drinking habits of 5,033 men and women over seven years.
But that doesn’t mean — despite what some headlines blared — that drinking wine actually improves your thinking skills, as one of the study author’s pointed out to WebMD. "I don't believe that wine can make you smarter," Dr. Kjell Arne Arntzen said. "Why female abstainers had lower scores compared to those with a very low wine consumption may be explained by other lifestyle related habits among abstainers, but could also be caused by a protective effect of wine on cognitive decline."
Still, the study is good news for drinkers, adding to the evidence that light-to-moderate drinking can reduce one’s risk of dementia. “Here is yet another study which offers evidence that alcohol in moderation is not only not detrimental to health, but can indeed extend the quality and length of life,” says Dr. Whelan.