Study: Drinking Boosts Your Immune System
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Well the new year is upon us and the old, is, well old, and that’s how many of you may feel this New Year’s Day, following a night of revelry designed to ring in the new year. Despite those aching heads and pounding hearts however, there could be a silver lining to your hangover induced cloud.
Did you know you could actually boost your immune system by drinking that cocktail? It’s true, at least according to a team of researchers at Oregon Health & Science University. They trained 12 rhesus macaques—chosen for the similarity between their immune system and ours—to drink a 4 percent ethanol cocktail. They vaccinated the monkeys against small pox and divided them into two groups: one that had access to the cocktails and one to sugar water. (Both groups were also given food and regular water.)
Over the course of the 14-month study, the researchers found that the monkeys in the booze cage drank varying amounts—some got stewed all day, clocking blood ethanol concentrations higher than 0.08, while others kept their intake moderate, between 0.02 and 0.04. “Like humans,” lead author Ilhem Messaoudi said, “rhesus macaques showed highly variable drinking behavior.”
After drinking for seven months, the macaques received another booster shot, and their reactions were remarkably different. The immune systems of the bad monkeys that drank too much failed to produce the antibodies the body usually makes in response to a vaccine. The moderate drinkers, on the other hand, demonstrated an enhanced immune response—better even than the teetotaling control group. The researchers can’t yet fully explain the results, but one possible explanation is that modest amounts of alcohol stimulate the immune system.
The many benefits of moderate drinking are well documented, from reduced risk of Alzheimer’s to improved cardiovascular function. But while a glass or two of wine with dinner might promote health, the researchers emphasized that excessive alcohol consumption is deleterious to immune function, no matter how merry one may feel.
Many thanks to our friends at Mother Jones for story contributions.
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Thanks. That’s one more piece of evidence that my nightly small glass of wine and a scotch or two a week are doing me god. I try to think of it as medicine but honestly, I like it. 😀