Harvard School of Public Health epidemiologists have found that moderate alcohol consumption protects women from cognitive decline, with a study showing that older women who consume moderate amounts of alcohol score better on cognitive tests.

Although researchers know that moderate drinking benefits the heart, there haven’t been any significant studies of whether moderate alcohol intake has any effect on the brain. The epidemiologists say that previous findings about the cardiovascular benefits of drinking might extend to the brain. They speculate that better blood flow could help to preserve cognitive function and prevent subclinical strokes.