How Wine and Beer May Keep Women Healthy at Midlife

By now, you're probably tired of hearing about all the things women need to do at midlife to stay healthy. You've heard it often enough: eat right, exercise, blah, blah, blah. Today, I'm happy to report on a study about a more pleasant way to keep illness at bay: drink a small glass of wine or beer a day.

That's the conclusion of a study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. They used data U.S. Nurses' Health Study, which began in 1976. In that study, about 122,000 nurses answered questions about their health and behavior, including how much alcohol they drank every day at midlife.

The Harvard researchers looked at the subset of women who drank less than 45 grams of alcohol a day at midlife, about age 58. These women were followed until they reached the age of 70. The researchers found that women who drank up to one alcoholic drink a day were 20 percent less likely to develop chronic diseases compared to nondrinkers.

One surprising result was that those who drank moderately were more likely to benefit than those who drank only occasionally. The study found that women who drank alcohol in moderation five to seven days a week were nearly 50 percent less likely to develop a chronic disease.

The researchers say it appears that spreading the alcohol consumption throughout the week is more effective than just one or two drinks a week.

Studies like this do not mean you should go out and guzzle. The researchers were looking at women who drank no more than one drink a day. One drink is generally defined as 12 ounces of beer or five ounces of wine. That's not a lot.

So stick to the limit and enjoy!