A Resolution That I'll be Sure to Keep

à votre santé!

Having received the gifts of Bacchus this holiday season, I needed to purge the liquor cabinet. Neither we nor visitors are fans of the hard stuff, and some of the bottles had not been touched for decades. Well, it's time to do one's duty: I resolve to take 1-2 shots every night until the bottles are empty.

As you, dear reader, are undoubtedly aware, alcohol taken in moderation can have health benefits. Here are seven:

1. It Can Lower Your Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease
2. It Can Lengthen Your Life
3. It Can Improve Your Libido
4. It Helps Prevent Against the Common Cold
5. It Can Decrease Chances Of Developing Dementia
6. It Can Reduce The Risk Of Gallstones
7. It Lowers The Chance Of Diabetes

More on item #5: contrary to what we've been told since we were children, alcohol (in moderation) can help brain function:

researchers at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that light alcohol consumption could be linked to better episodic memory—the memory of events. They studied adults over age 60 with no indication of dementia, and saw that moderate drinking was associated with larger hippocampal brain volume—the area of the brain responsible for the consolidation of short- and long-term memory.

I've always wanted to increase my hippocampal brain volume.