By Jim Schuh

New studies show that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial. So is religious faith, if you want a long life. And we look at what it costs to go to college – lots more than some think.

I’ve always heard drinking alcohol kills brain cells. After reading a report in Health Day that found moderate drinking may be associated with a reduced risk of dementia, I wondered if the alcohol consumed by moderate drinkers killed off the brain cells associated with dementia long before these people displayed symptoms of the disease.

Seriously, the study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease determined that “Among men and women 85 and older, those who drank moderate amounts of alcohol five to seven days a week were twice as likely to show no signs of dementia than non-drinkers.”

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