Daily glass of wine helps beat dementia
A FORMER city slicker has turned her back on the rat race to become one of only a tiny band of female roof thatchers.
Phoebe Tegetmeier, 32, decided last year she wanted to work alongside her father William so that she could continue his legacy after he retires.
She returned to the countryside to learn the craft of thatching straw roofs on to cottages after a decade of living and working in Manchester.
There are just 800 master thatchers still honing their skills in the UK and Phoebe, from York, is one of only a handful of women.
A GLASS of wine or pint of beer a day could stave off dementia.
Drinking in moderation boosted brain power and slowed mental decline, a study found.
Results were based on 20,000 older people who were tracked for almost a decade.
Those who enjoyed a regular tipple – up to two drinks a day – were a third less likely to have poor cognitive function compared with teetotallers.
They scored 29 per cent higher on average in tests for learning, thinking, reasoning, remembering, problem solving, decision making and attention.
Moderate drinkers also did 26 and 36 per cent better in speech and memory tests.
Dr Changwei Lei, an epidemiologist at Georgia University in the US, said the findings add to evidence that low levels of alcohol are good for grey matter. He
She said: “It’s such an important part of our heritage and more women should be involved. Traditionally, women never worked outdoors in laborious jobs.
“But we are absolutely capable to do this. It feels so fulfilling to restore and save old cottages that are rich with history from disrepair.”
Phoebe decided to “give it a go” while William, 76, was still able to train her. She added: “I want to carry my dad’s legacy and promote this wonderful craft which has slowly been lost over the years.” said: “Low to moderate drinking was associated with consistently high cognitive function trajectories.”
There was also a slower rate of mental decline for middle-aged or older participants. His team identified a “U-shaped” relationship between alcohol and cognitive function scores where a little provided benefits – while too much had the reverse affect. The optimal amount was 10 to 14 drinks per week.
Researchers analysed data on 19,887 men and women from the national Health and Retirement Study in the US.
Between 1996 and 2008 their mental health was screened every two years. They were also questioned about their drinking.
Ability
Mental function was measured by assessing word recall, mental health and vocabulary in a series of exams.
These included being read a list of 10 words and then having to remember them immediately – or five minutes later.
Participants were also tested on their knowledge, language and orientation, and their ability to provide the definitions of five given words.
Dr Lei said: “Our study suggested low to moderate drinking was associated with better total cognitive function and better word recall, mental status and vocabulary.
“Low to moderate alcohol use was also associated with slower rates of cognitive decline.”
Interestingly the link was stronger for white participants than their black peers, he added.
Dr Lei said alcohol’s effect on cognitive function “may be a balance of its beneficial and harmful effects on the cardiovascular system”.
Several studies found low to moderate drinkers had fewer strokes and heart attacks – and lived longer – than abstainers and heavy drinkers.
In 2018 a study by another US team found that small quantities of alcohol reduce brain inflammation and clear toxins linked to Alzheimer’s.
The study was published JAMA Network Open. in
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