It’s a rare day when alcohol is positively associated with memory, but here we are. In a 2013 study, which came back to life and set Facebook ablaze over the weekend, drinking champagne can actually boost your memory. Couple that with similar findings about red wine, and things are looking pretty good for grapes these days.
The champagne study was conducted by researchers at Reading University in the U.K. and asserts that one to three glasses of bubbly per week can assist in preventing memory loss. The benefits — which come from champagne’s positive interaction with memory-storing proteins in the brain — are specific to the phenolic compounds found in the grapes used to make champagne.
CRUCIAL NOTE: This isn’t something you can just start spouting on about when downing a Mad Dog 20/20.
The findings on red wine were due to flavonoids, which champagne doesn’t have. However, the phenolic compounds in the combination of grapes used to make champagne (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay) showed similar memory-boosting qualities.
Worth noting: The dosages we’re talking about here are pretty minimal. Professor Jeremy Spencer, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading was a minor buzzkill with this line:
“We encourage a responsible approach to alcohol consumption, and our results suggest that a very low intake of one to two glasses a week can be effective.”
Still, two glasses of champagne a week are recommended for better memory? Since we were all drinking anyway, it feels like news worth toasting. In the words of the poet/sage Will Smith:
“Pop the bubbly, life is lovely.”
