Drink Wine, Have a Sharp Memory

During a study, researchers Vincenzo Solfrizzi and Francesco Panza, at the department of geriatrics at the University of Bari, measured the alcohol consumption and brain functioning of almost 1,500 people, aged 65 years to 84 years.

They tracked 121 people with mild cognitive impairment and their progression to dementia, which is a memory disorder that affects the brain for more than three years.

Those who had up to one drink a day, mostly wine, developed dementia at an 85 per cent slower rate than people with mild cognitive impairment who never drank alcohol, the study further says.

It is the first study to look at people with a condition called mild cognitive impairment, a transitional stage between normal ageing and dementia in which mental abilities have started to deteriorate.

Experts said the message was "little and often" for people wanting to protect their memory as high levels of alcohol consumption can lead to dementia.