There is irrefutable evidence that moderate alcohol consumption is good for your overall health and that includes brain health and function. (1)
Alcohol plays a role in the traditional diets of some of the longest-lived people on earth.
It is regularly consumed in the three countries with the most centenarians — France, Italy and Japan.
In both France and Italy, wine, especially red wine, is an integral part of the daily diet.
Red wine protects against heart disease, diabetes, and chronic inflammation all of which can adversely affect your brain. (2, 3, 4)
Red wine’s polyphenols remove protein plaques that accumulate in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients. (5)
Red wine is also a key part of the diet on the Greek island of Ikaria — one of the world’s Blue Zones.
Blue Zones are places where the people experience extraordinary health and mental sharpness well into old age — 90’s and above.
Ikarians have significantly less depression and dementia than the rest of the world. (6)
Resveratrol, a potent antioxidant found in red wine, is isolated and sold as a brain supplement to improve memory and protect against age-related mental decline.