Just one alcoholic drink a day may help thwart mental decline in women age 70 and older, according to a recent study.

Elderly women who drank a little each day were about 20% less likely to suffer mental impairment than teetotalers, the national study published in New England Journal of Medicine showed. The daily drink also made a decline in memory and thinking less likely over two years.

Alcohol at modest levels can do a lot of good things, according to Francine Grodstein, associate professor at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She added that there has been growing evidence that the same things that seemed good or bad for your heart were good or bad for your brain, confirming that moderate alcohol consumption decreases cardiovascular disease.

The National Institutes of Health funded the study, which measured the mental function and drinking habits of 11,000 US nurses using telephone interviews and surveys given twice, two years apart. The benefits were seen with every type of alcohol.

Alcohol can boost good cholesterol levels and prevent blood clot formation. Still experts warned alcohol consumption could be a double-edged sword if the right limits are not found.

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