Whiskey/brandy for longevity?

Alzheimer's, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases; biomarkers, lifestyle, supplements, drugs, and health care.
NewRon
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Re: Whiskey/brandy for longevity?

Post by NewRon »

NewRon wrote:There's a Dr Roger Corder in the UK who's a polyphenol scientist and he had a website some years ago, where different wines were graded and sold on their polyphenol content. Unfortunately it didn't last.

Tannat (Madiran) came out as the healthiest grape iirc. Anyway, he's very approachable and would be delighted to discuss the subject, if someone were to ask him some half intelligent questions!

http://www.the-red-wine-diet.com/
Is anyone (two or three) of the more scientifically disposed intelligentsia here willing to compose some relevant questions for Dr Corder?

AFAIK he doesn't specialize in alcohol polyphenols, but in polyphenols in general, a subject that is much discussed here...
Apo E4/E4, Male, Age 60
AnnK
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Re: Whiskey/brandy for longevity?

Post by AnnK »

Greetings from Minnesota, NF52! Yes, you are correct...we are Vikings from Minnesota (Norwegian). Your optimism and positive spirit shine through in every post/response! Many thanks! Take care and enjoy your week :o)
Nikki2019
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Re: Whiskey/brandy for longevity?

Post by Nikki2019 »

AnnK wrote:Hi Jesper:

Interesting question! My APOE3/4 Mother will soon be approaching 87 and has consumed brandy her entire adult life. When I stayed with my parents years ago, I noticed it was a pre-dinner cocktail every night. She might not drink as much any more, but when we give her a bottle of brandy for her birthday every year, it has never gone to waste. I'm not sure if that is the secret to her longevity or not. Her total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL have always been high, but she can't tolerate statins. She smoked several packs of cigarettes a day up through her 50's, is overweight, has high blood pressure, and eats a standard American diet with plenty of sugar. On the other hand, she has always been socially active, goes to the club/gym at least 2-3 times a week, reads, gardens, does puzzles/word finders regularly, and takes Omega-3 supplements along with Vitamin K2, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin A. Has brandy helped her all these years? She claims that her yearly treat of lutefisk over the holidays is the key to staying healthy. As for me...I'm also an APOE3/4 but I don't care for the taste of whisky/brandy or eat lutefiske (I do drink wine and beer on occasion), so I'll have to leverage other preventive measures :o)

Take care!
AnnK
Hi,

I wonder about other relatives you may have that are 3/4 s... if they drank brandy? I have heard of a gene ( some are hypothesizing) behaves as a sort of a protectant in a woman in the Columbian family that has the early AD. There may be other genes in play here if others in your family do not drink any alcohol, have the same allele and don't have AD symptoms.
As E4 s, we are inherent fighters and don't give up so easily.
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TheresaB
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Re: Whiskey/brandy for longevity?

Post by TheresaB »

Jesper wrote: perhaps leaving some room for uncertainty about the effects of moderate alcohol consumption in E4s.
Bottom line, alcohol consumption is not a good idea for E4s, so if you must, moderation is paramount and other personal health factors had better be in tip-top shape for the brain to counter the damaging effects of alcohol.

Alzheimer’s is largely a brain energy issue influenced by three main things:

1. Insulin resistance in the brain which results in impaired glucose uptake to which ApoE4s seem to be more susceptible to this than others. Alcohol is processed in the body as sugar, not good for insulin sensitivity.

2. Accelerated mitochondrial degradation (mitochondria are the cells energy “factories”) and again it seems that ApoE4s are more sensitive to the damaging effects of free radicals. You may want to read Alcohol is damaging to mitochondria. and/or Alcohol and Mitochondria: A Dysfunctional Relationship

3. Vascular impairment in the brain, again something, we seem to have more susceptibility. This one is a little more complex. In moderation, alcohol maybe beneficial, but hard to say.

The names you cited were born in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The lifestyle they led is SO DIFFERENT than the lifestyle we lead: activity level (I suspect not a couch potato or someone who sat at a desk all day in the bunch), dietary practices (especially in comparing in sugar/simple carbohydrates and vegetable oil consumption), farming practices, food additives, preservatives, food dyes, insecticides, herbicides, concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) practices designed to quickly grow and fatten animals, pollution exposure, circadian rhythm disruption, prescription and OTC drugs, sun exposure vs artificial/blue light exposure, on and on. The lives we’re leading are SO DIFFERENT than their lives that, in my opinion, their bodies were better able to absorb the damage of alcohol.
-Theresa
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PRESCOTT
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Re: Whiskey/brandy for longevity?

Post by PRESCOTT »

Well said Theresa, not to mention considering one’s intuitive, a difficult one to quantify.


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