Want to live to 100? Drink Wine

Debating whether or not to have that glass of wine tonight? Should you even drink wine?

Meet Florence Bearse. She just turned 100 years old, and was interviewed by her local TV news station in Bangor, Maine.

Known for her no-nonsense attitude and sense of humor at the Westgate Center for Rehabilitation, Florence did not shy away from sharing her secret: wine.

“I like my wine. Don’t take it away from me,” she said.

The event was complete with all the fixings, including birthday cake, balloons and gifts.

Bearse said she ran a restaurant in Lagrange where she dedicated her life to serving others.

“The people have taken me I think. They understand me. That I’m crazy,” Bearse joked.

Originally from Massachusetts, she said it did not take long to find the beauty of Maine.

“Maine is beautiful. I tell everybody, ‘You want a trip? Go to Maine,’” she said.

Florence spent much of her time joking around during the party, making faces and laughing.

She even had some advice for those looking to make it as far as she has:

“Don’t take any baloney!” Bearse said.

And she’s not kidding around. See the full interview via wlbz2.com

Why Wine is Good for You

Florence might just be on to something. Here is some information if you drink wine.

According to Health magazine, the list of wine’s benefits is long—and getting more surprising all the time. Already well-known as heart healthy, wine in moderation might help you lose weight, reduce forgetfulness, boost your immunity, and help prevent bone loss.

With America likely to edge out France and Italy in total wine consumption in the near future, according to one analyst, and with women buying more than 6 out of every 10 bottles sold in this country, were happy to report that wine may do all of the following:

1. Feed your head
Wine could preserve your memory. When researchers gave memory quizzes to women in their 70s, those who drank one drink or more every day scored much better than those who drank less or not at all. Wine helps prevent clots and reduce blood vessel inflammation, both of which have been linked to cognitive decline and heart disease, explains Tedd Goldfinger, DO, of the University of Arizona School of Medicine. Alcohol also seems to raise HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, which helps unclog your arteries.

2. Keep the scale in your corner
Studies find that people who drink wine daily have lower body mass than those who indulge occasionally; moderate wine drinkers have narrower waists and less abdominal fat than people who drink liquor. Alcohol may encourage your body to burn extra calories for as long as 90 minutes after you down a glass. Beer seems to have a similar effect.

3. Boost your body’s defenses
In one British study, those who drank roughly a glass of wine a day reduced by 11% their risk of infection by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, a major cause of gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancers. As little as half a glass may also guard against food poisoning caused by germs like salmonella when people are exposed to contaminated food, according to a Spanish study.

4. Guard against ovarian woes
When Australian researchers recently compared women with ovarian cancer to cancer-free women, they found that roughly one glass of wine a day seemed to reduce the risk of the disease by as much as 50 percent. Earlier research at the University of Hawaii produced similar findings. Experts suspect this may be due to antioxidants or phytoestrogens, which have high anticancer properties and are prevalent in wine. And in a recent University of Michigan study, a red wine compound helped kill ovarian cancer cells in a test tube.

5. Build better bones
On average, women who drink moderately seem to have higher bone mass than abstainers. Alcohol appears to boost estrogen levels; the hormone seems to slow the body’s destruction of old bone more than it slows the production of new bone.

6. Prevent blood-sugar trouble
Premenopausal women who drink one or two glasses of wine a day are 40 percent less likely than women who don’t drink to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a 10-year study by Harvard Medical School. While the reasons aren’t clear, wine seems to reduce insulin resistance in diabetic patients.

 So ladies and gents, the next time you raise a glass of vino, don’t feel so bad!