Road to 100 might include a glass of red, but there’s a catch

If giving up your evening glass of red was part of the plan to make it to 100, some of the world’s longest-living communities present an intriguing contradiction.

In places famous for producing extraordinary numbers of centenarians, alcohol hasn’t necessarily been banished from the table.

In Sardinia, Italy, a glass of the local red wine has traditionally accompanied meals. On the Greek island of Ikaria, wine has also long been part of everyday life.

These communities have been studied as so-called “Blue Zones” – places where people appear to live unusually long and healthy lives.

So, is that nightly glass of wine actually helping?

Not so fast.

The more interesting lesson may be less about what these people drink and more about how they live.

Alcohol in traditional Mediterranean communities is commonly consumed in relatively modest quantities, often slowly, with food and in the company of family and friends.

Heavy drinking is an entirely different proposition.

And wine is only one tiny part of a much bigger picture.

These populations have traditionally eaten diets rich in vegetables, legumes and other whole foods. Everyday movement is built into their lives, strong family and community connections are common and meals are often social occasions rather than something squeezed between appointments.

There’s another rather large hole in the theory that wine is the secret ingredient to reaching 100.

Loma Linda in California is another community associated with exceptional longevity. Many of its Seventh-day Adventist residents don’t drink alcohol at all.
That makes it difficult to separate the wine glass from everything else happening around it.

It also matters because the health evidence around alcohol has shifted considerably from the days when a daily red was routinely portrayed as being “good for your heart”.

The World Health Organisation says there is no risk-free form of alcohol consumption and specifically says there is no safe level when it comes to cancer risk.

Alcohol is linked to at least seven types of cancer, and risk generally rises as consumption increases.

Australian guidelines are similarly cautious. The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends healthy adults have no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than four on any one day. It makes another point worth remembering: the less you drink, the lower your risk.

So the longevity lesson isn’t permission to start drinking if you don’t already. Nor is a bottle of red suddenly a health supplement.

Perhaps what the centenarians can teach us is simpler: if alcohol is part of your life, less is better than more. And a small glass enjoyed slowly over dinner with family or friends looks very different from drinking for the sake of drinking.