According to the study, people who live to 90 or older often drink moderately.
Neurologist Claudia Kawas and her team at the University of California, Irvine, have been studying the habits of people who live until their 90s since 2003. There’s a paltry amount of research on the oldest-old group, defined as 85 and older by the Social Security Administration, and Kawas wanted to delve into the lifestyle habits of those who live past 90. She began asking about dietary habits, medical history and daily activities via survey, wondering if such data could help identify trends among these who lived longest. Ultimately she gathered information on the habits of 1,700 people between the ages of 90-99.
At the AAAS meeting last week, Kawas reported some results. According to the research, drinking two glasses of beer or wine every day was linked to decreasing risk of dying prematurely by 18 percent, The Independent reported.
“I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Kawas said at the conference, according to the publication.
The results do not show causation, only an unexplained link between drinking and longevity. More information is needed about how the study was conducted before treating wine as the drink at the fountain of youth.
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