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Beer and health
What the Doctor says

Genes and gin aid longevity
by Dr Thomas Stuttaford

SOCIOLOGISTS who like to attribute longevity to early environment and social privilege will be hard-pressed to find similarities between the upbringing of Antonio Todde and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Signor Todde was one of 12 children born to a farm worker's family in Sardinia. He had only one year's schooling before he too, began working as a shepherd boy.

About the only similarities between this old countryman of 111 and the centenarian Queen Mother is that both like the great outdoors, both relish mountain air and both make certain that they have a drink every day.

There is no doubt that regular but not too violent exercise, good-quality food, a variety of interests and a wide social circle - Signor Todde is a legend in his small market town, just as the Queen Mother is one in the United Kingdom - favour longevity. However, the medical opinion both in Britain and Italy is that the most important factor necessary for a long life is genetic inheritance. The Toddes' is. in fact, rather better than that of the Bowes-Lyons.

The component in any package to promote a long life and the one that attracts the most interest is alcohol. Signor Todde invariably strengthens the genetic advantage that nature has given him by having a glass-and-a-half of red wine with his typically Mediterranean fare.

It would be lèse majesté ask the Queen Mother about her drinking habits, but the popular belief is that she can at least match with gin Signor Todde's daily allowance of red wine. It was also known, even before she retrieved her glass of red wine with alacrity from the Archbishop of Canterbury, that she had a well-developed palate.

When Signor Todde and the Queen Mother have time for a quiet drink and a few moments to spare, they should read the latest edition of AIM, a journal that is a synopsis of the recent good news about alcohol. There is further confirmation of its effect on the heart. Dr Harvey Finkel, of the University of Boston, attributes - like most doctors - the beneficial effect of wine on the cardiovascular system to the resveratrol and quercetin that wine, particularly red wine, contains.

Conversely, Dr Geoff Skurray, of the University of Sydney, and a fellow Australian, Dr Philip Norrie, emphasise that although white wine may not be so rich in polyphenols as red wine, these life prolonging chemicals are more easily absorbed into the bloodstream from white wine than red wine.

Dr Erik Skovenborg, a member of the Scandinavian Medical Alcohol Board, has some good news for the Queen Mother. His research has shown that the best combination for a long life is one to three drinks a day combined with steady exercise.

He attributes this increased longevity to the anti thrombotic properties of beer, wine and spirits, and that it is the alcohol which has the ability to reduce platelet stickiness regardless of how it is taken.

Gin will do nicely.

For in-depth information, please visit the AIM-Gateway site at www.aim-digest.com/gateway/