There’s possibly no better time to highlight this research story than on New Year’s eve: a drink or two a day — a glass of wine, a glass of beer — might also keep the doctor away.
That’s what colleagues and I found in a study published this month in the journal Vaccine. We studied the drinking behaviors of rhesus macaque monkeys, who were given 22-hour-a-day access to a mixture of alcohol and water — and allowed to drink or not drink it. What we found after 14 months of study: the immune system of the monkeys that drank “moderate” amounts of alcohol were actually bolstered — more than the monkeys who drank more heavily and more than a control group of monkeys who drank a low-calorie sugar solution. We defined “moderate” drinking as monkeys who had a blood alcohol level of 0.02 to 0.04 percent (A blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent is the limit for humans to be able to legally drive a vehicle.).
The media coverage of our work — which has been extensive, in USA Today, Time, The Daily Beast and elsewhere — has focused on the happy news that drinking in moderation might help boost our immune system and help us fight off infection. But my colleague, Ilhem Messaoudi Powers (formerly at OHSU, now at the University of California-Riverside), and I want our research to go beyond that. We want to better understand how our body is reacting to moderate alcohol to actually have this effect. The goal would be to then find new, alcohol-free ways — maybe new medications — to boost the immune system, in generally healthy people and in people with immunodeficiency.
Of course, based on what we’ve found, it looks like people might be able to get that boost by enjoying their New Year’s Eve with that glass of wine, as well. But remember — it’s all about moderation.
Kathy Grant, Ph.D.
Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience
OHSU Brain Institute
3 responses to “A toast to your health”
Yes, moderation is the key. I’m curious to see how the study would have gone if the moderate alcohol consumption would have been compared to monkeys who simply drank water instead of a sugar solution. I can’t imagine a sugar solution being good for anyone, including monkeys.
The control monkeys were given a maltose-dextrin solution match for the calories of ethanol consumed. The control monkeys had a good response to the vaccine booster, just not as robust as the monkeys that drank moderate amounts of alcohol.
Interesting finding. I am wondering how would the definition of “moderate” translate in human beings…