A New Reason To Celebrate With Some Bubbly: Champagne May Improve Memory
Scientists have found that drinking champagne can improve your memory. A study published in the journal Antioxidants & Redox Signaling said some celebratory bubbly could increase one's working spatial memory, an area in the brain vital for undertaking complex tasks and dealing with numbers.
Researchers discovered that rats that were given about 1.3 glasses of champagne per week for a month and a half showed impressive spike in their performance on standard maze tests compared to 'non-drinker' rats. Dr. David Vauzor, co-author of the study, is confident that this will translate well into the human biology. The reason behind this is the phenolic compounds contained in the champagne. These are smaller flavonoids found in red wine which may trim down the risk of Parkinson's disease in humans. With the brain proteins, there is a significant increase in activity in the parts linked to memory storage.
This area gets weaker with age, causing less efficient memory storage and may result to dementia in extreme cases. Champagne may help in slowing down these effects and help with the eventual cognitive loss. The same effects were also seen earlier with red wine and are among the great benefits of having a glass of red. But moderation, in everything, is always the key to overall health.
How much bubbly should one consume to acquire its benefits without overdoing it? Experts said about two to three glasses a week should be sufficient for the optimum effects. However, there are disclaimers that come with the study, one of them is the duration for which a person should put this habit into practice before seeing results.
While the rats who participated in the experiment saw a boost in just six weeks, humans who want to acquire the same advantage will have to keep drinking for a year or two. That doesn't sound like a bad deal at all. The next time you're at a party or at home enjoying a quiet evening, drink some champagne. It's good for you.