By Richard Thomas

Do you want to live longer? Drink more whiskey.

Whiskey helps prevent cancer. The benefits of the antioxidants of red wine are well established, but less well-known is that whiskey contains even more of those antioxidants. As Dr. Jim Swan said at the EuroMedLab conference in 2005, “research has shown that there are even greater health benefits to people who drink single malt whiskies. Why? Single malt whiskies have more ellagic acid than red wine.” When taken in moderation, of course.

Whiskey fits into your diet. As our own Kurt Maitland often says to me, “how many fat whiskey drunks have you ever seen?” Beer and wine might give you a belly, but at zero carbs and zero fat per shot, whiskey won’t.

Moderate whiskey drinking helps prevent strokes and heart disease. Just as having a little whiskey every so often helps prevent cancer while avoiding the negative effects of heavier alcohol consumption, so it also helps prevent heart disease and strokes. These maladies are another area where red wine is usually the booze cited as beneficial, but as we have already seen, whiskey does the same job while delivering fewer calories.

Whiskey combats dementia. Are you worried about Alzheimer’s later in life? Drink more whiskey. A 2003 study shows that moderate drinkers have lower rates of dementia than teetotallers.