A 100-year-old woman in Pennsylvania credits the longevity of her life to years of drinking alcohol.
Pauline Spagnola, a native of Plains Township, celebrated a century of life on Wednesday surrounded by friends at the Golden Living East Mountain Center.
When asked by a local news reporter on her secret to having a long life, the centenarian said that she owes it to drinking booze.
Spagnola is not the only centenarian to credit the longevity of her health and life to a passion for drinking alcoholic beverages.
Last month, Mark Behrends, a farmer from Nebraska, became one of the oldest men in the United States when he turned 110.
According to his daughter, Lois Bassinger, the secret to her father's long life is drinking a can of beer every day.
Another centenarian, Nancy Lampert of Staten Island, New York, credits a healthy diet coupled with a few glasses of wine each day as the key to her long life.
Lampert enjoys her daily meals with two glasses of Paisano wine or a small glass of Southern Comfort. She also indulges herself with a can of Budweiser beer from time to time.
Health Benefits of Light Drinking
In January, a medical review published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggested that doctors should advise nondrinking patients about the potential health benefits of light to moderate alcohol drinking.
The author of the review, Dr. Emanuel Rubin of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, provided several reasons for people between the ages of 40 and 50 years old to have a drink each day.
The medical paper showed that drinking a glass of red wine a day can potentially reduce the risk of heart attack and coronary artery disease. This is because of its positive effects on the body's good cholesterol known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL).
The study also pointed out that having one to two glasses of alcoholic drink daily can lower the likelihood for stroke, especially for women, due to the anti-coagulant properties of alcohol.
Despite the perceived medical benefits of light drinking, the American Heart Association warned that engaging in heavy drinking, having three glasses of alcohol or more a day, can significantly increase the risk for heart ailments through weight gain, high blood pressure and high triglycerides.
Photo: Lori Branham | Flickr
