A little wine goes a long way

Drinking a small amount of wine appears to extend men’s life expectancy by a few years, Dutch researchers said Wednesday in the latest study to find benefits in moderate drinking, presented at an American Heart Assn. conference in Orlando, Fla.

The researchers tracked 1,373 men born between 1900 and 1920 who lived in Zutphen, an industrial town in the Netherlands.

The researchers followed alcohol intake in seven surveys carried out over four decades starting in 1960, tracking some men until they died and the rest until 2000.

Drinking a little alcohol -- less than a glass a day -- was associated with lower rates of death from cardiovascular and overall causes, the study found.

Drinking wine appeared to be more protective than spirits and beer. An average of about half a glass of wine a day was associated with lowest mortality levels.