When Louis Pasteur, the inventor of pasteurization (a process that kills bacteria in milk, making it safe to consume) said, "Wine is the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages," he was speaking from experience in the lab and real life.

These days, thanks to him, you don't have to worry about getting salmonella, E. coli, listeria, or campylobacter from milk. And research shows that wine, in moderation, is still a healthful beverage.

A new study looked at data on 19,877 participants in the Health and Retirement Study — the University of Michigan's nearly 20-year examination of America's older population — to determine participants' brain function.

Starting at age 62, every nine years or so the researchers tested the subjects’ word recall, mental status, and vocabulary. It turned out that those who were low-to-moderate drinkers (less than eight drinks per week for women and less than 15 drinks per week for men) had significantly better cognition. 

Unfortunately, most folks don't know what's meant by low or moderate drinking. In fact, alcohol use causes about 88,000 deaths annually in the U.S., making it the third-leading preventable cause of death.

An acceptable amount is defined as around a drink a day for women and two for men. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol), 5 ounces of 12% alcohol wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.

If you are more than rarely over the top of those levels, don't ignore the problem. Reach out to groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or consider talk therapy.