We hear on the news today that the UK government is doubling it’s investment into dementia and associated diseases, as it is dramatically on the increase. We probably presume this is because people are living longer so dementia and Parkinsons are a natural degeneration of our neurological system. Right?
Possibly not. If this was the case wouldn’t everybody suffer neurodegeneration at the same rate? Yet some people live to over 100 and remain sharp as a pin. So it’s reasonable to conclude that it affects different people at different rates.
Well good news – there is a way to dramatically decrease your rate of neurodegeneration, and decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or dementia by up to 80%. No – it is not doing Sudoko or Nintendo brain training! (Do they honestly think we’d believe that would work!?)
It is drinking good wine! A painless form of medicine, in fact a positively pleasurable one. Here is a piece taken from Dr Phil Norrie’s paper on the health benefits of drinking good wine:
“Antioxidants, especially resveratrol in wine, stimulate a nerve enzyme called Mitogen Activated Protein (MAP) kinase which stimulates nerve cells and helps them regenerate their dendrites or nerve interconnections. Thus Dr. Alberto Bertelli from University of Milan, the world authority on the subject states “By daily reinforcing these contacts we can prevent neurodegeneration” (Such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease).”
Dr Phil goes on to conclude the benefit could be as much as an 80% reduction. But this is just one benefit of drinking good wine. There are over a dozen others including reducing the risk of blindness, cancer, heart disease, stroke, kidney stones, gall stones…..etc. Read Dr Phil Norrie’s article it is fascinating!
I discovered this myself back in the early 80,
S, when abstaining from all intoxicants in an endeavour to atone for and amend a misspent youth. As a year passed I reflected that all this abstaining was rendering me miserable and phone to colds and infections.. A visit to Spain and the restorative nature of a good rioja became a revelatory experience and I became convinced of the immediate reparatory and antidepressant qualities of real wine. Since then I permit myself a generous measure or 3
Every other day and avoid acidic and crude commercial fake wines with a vengeance. Local yokels and uninitiated may call me a wine snob , because I refuse to inflict damage on my body with heavily processed plonk. Sorry , welcome to your head the next day I think. I am in total agreement with dr phil,s article .