Glass of wine a day keeps depression at bay

Drinking two to seven glasses of wine a week lowers the risk of becoming depressed by 32% on average say researchers.

The new study was compiled by researchers at the University of Navarra in Spain and is particularly relevant for middle aged and older people.

The researchers studied the health of 5,500 light to moderate drinkers aged 55 to 80 over a seven year period and assessed their alcohol consumption, mental health and lifestyle.

Those who drank moderately were shown to be at a “significantly lower” risk of falling into depression.

Professor Miguel Martinez-González, the senior author of the report, commented: “Lower amounts of alcohol intake might exert protection in a similar way to what has been observed for coronary heart disease. In fact, it is believed that depression and coronary heart disease share some common disease mechanisms.”

The news is yet another positive in health studies concerning moderate alcohol consumption.

However, there are a seemingly equal number of negative outcomes too not least yesterday’s news that women drinking heavily before their first pregnancy were more likely to contract breast cancer.