Want to live a long, healthy life without all the exercise, kale, and chia seeds? Well, according to 110-year-old New Jersey woman named Agnes Fenton, the key to a long life is beer — specifically Miller High Life, also known popularly as the champagne of beers. Fenton, whose only serious health problem to date has been a benign tumor, told The Record that after the tumor, her doctor prescribed her to drink three Miller High Lifes a day. She followed the doctor's orders to a T for 70 years, and, well... she's 110 years old, you guys. The next time someone comes at you for having too many High Lifes, maybe you should just brush them off. They're mere mortals, after all, while you? You drink the nectar of the gods. Or... something.
Fenton isn't the only person who swears on longevity by alcohol, by the way. Mark Behrends, a Nebraska resident who turned 110 in June, said that his secret to a long life one glass of beer a day; meanwhile, Pauline Spagnola, a 100-year-old woman from Pennsylvania, also recently told a local news station that her secret to living so long was a lot of booze. While this may sound like fantastic news for all you booze-lovers who want to live forever, it's worth remembering that alcohol won't literally preserve your insides — though there are studies that hypothesize that moderate consumption of beer and wine may add two to five years onto your life (the operative word there is "hypothesize").
So, while alcohol may not be healthy for you per se (it's still a drug, after all!), there are a lot of fun, boozy drinks with a few benefits that you may not know about. The next time you have a night out on the town, you might think about opting for one of these drinks to take advantage of those added bonuses:
1. Bloody Mary
Bloody Marys are usually made with vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Tomato juice is a great source of potassium, which has a lot of benefits for the heart, prevents muscle cramps, and lowers blood pressure. And don't forget about the traditional celery stick garnish; celery has a variety of health benefits, from preventing the common cold to fighting cancer, in addition to being low-cal, packing a serving of veggies, and tasting spectacular. You could definitely do worse.
2. Vodka Soda
OK, so a vodka soda might be a little boring, but if you're trying to consume fewer empty calories but also don't want to miss out on drunken debauchery, this drink is the way to go. Soda water, unlike tonic water, contains zero calories, and one ounce of vodka generally only contains 95 calories. Though the drink doesn't have any nutritional value, it won't pack quite as many empty calories in your body as a beer or as much sugar as some other cocktails might.
3. Red Wine
As noted above, many researchers believe that a glass of wine a day can add a few extra years onto your life. Other research shows that red wine can deliver a percentage of your daily recommended intake of iron, potassium, and magnesium; plus, it's packed with antioxidants, which have a variety of health benefits.
4. Hod Toddy
This hot drink, made with boiling water, honey, lemon juice, and bourbon, has been shown to help alleviate colds. Plus, honey offers a whole lot of health benefits: It can act as a memory enhancer, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, sleep aid, and energy booster. With fall a little over a month away, this drink is a crowd favorite when temperatures start to get a little lower.
5. Liquor on the Rocks
When it comes down to it, cocktails, beers, and ciders contain a lot of sugar and carbs, two things that aren't so good for your body when consumed heavily. The least caloric way to drink your alcohol is neat or on the rocks.
Everyone's body is very different and it's always best to drink in moderation, no matter what you're drinking. Plus, not to be a Debbie Downer, but let's not forget that the mixers that provide some of the benefits we're talking about here can also be consumed sans booze. But hey, I get it: Alcohol is fun. Maybe what all these folks who swear by booze as the key to long life are actually getting at is not losing your sense of enjoyment. YOLO, right?
