Sometimes the value of alcohol in the life of a senior can be a source of controversy. If you have enjoyed a moderate use of alcohol throughout your adult life, it can be pretty insulting when someone takes that away from you as though you were a teenager without the ability to handle adult life in a responsible way. But to look at the issue of alcohol use in seniors from the perspective of your children or caregivers, there are ways that alcohol could be a medical problem during this time of life when health issues seem to become more central to your daily life.
However, medical science tells us that one glass of red wine taken before bed can be the best medicine there is. This is not new information even though the medical world would like us to think this was a big breakthrough. As far back as the bible, there is advice that says we should have a little wine for the stomach and other ailments. Maybe the modern world is just catching up with the wisdom of ancient worlds and the outcome will be healthier and happier senior years for you.
Red wine can have some very positive effects on how our bodies process foods and in dealing with the areas of health that sometimes can be a problem. What that bible reference is saying is that wine helps digestion. And that is what doctors are telling us as well because a reasonable serving of wine during or after supper introduces a healthy level of alcohol to the system which empowers the digestive process. The outcome is you digest your food better which makes you healthier overall, keeps the digestive tract cleaned out and reduces the incidence of indigestion or heartburn. That’s not bad for something that tastes so good and makes you feel good as well.
Wine has also been well known for years to be a beneficial substance for calming the nerves. Now, this can be taken to the extreme but having a small serving of wine when you are upset is often the prescribed treatment to help you calm down and reduce nervous anxiety as the result of stress.
Red wine in particular is often directly prescribed for patients suffering from anemia. The beneficial vitamins and nutrients in red wine, empowered by that small serving of alcohol, can help reduce the incidence of anemic blood cells and make your blood richer and more able to do its job in your body.
Finally, wine can do a lot as a sleep aid. Again, this can lead to abuse but in moderation, a small serving of wine just before bed helps you ease into sleep naturally and stay asleep throughout the night. That good night’s sleep can be highly recuperative and have a positive effect on just about every aspect of health. You will rise rested, feeling good, energetic and ambitious to get up and do something good with your day.
It’s worth our time to take a second look at alcohol for the healthy things it does especially for senior citizens. Too often healthy adult diet elements such as coffee or alcohol get categorized with cigarettes as evil because, in a few extreme cases, these substances caused problems. But a mature outlook on the good that can come from moderate use of these substances can counter the “urban myth” that all alcohol consumption is bad. After all, if that were true, it wouldn’t be in the bible that we should take a little wine each day for our health. And, as they say, if it’s good enough for the heroes of the bible, it’s good enough for you and me today.
