The Golden Bachelorette is Coming...

1. Don't blame the messenger.

A new study on the health effects of alcohol adds to the mounting body of evidence that even moderate drinking can have negative health consequences, especially among older adults. The study from England followed 135,000 adults over the age of 60 and found an increased risk of cancer from moderate drinking and no advantages in terms of heart disease, as some older studies had claimed. Dr. Rosario Ortolá, an assistant professor of preventive medicine and public health at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the lead author of the paper, told the NY Times that alcohol probably raises the risk of cancer “from the first drop.”

All this adds to what appears to be a growing consensus that any alcohol poses some health risks. Last year, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction issued new guidance stating that there is no positive health value to drinking and that “even a small amount of alcohol can be damaging to health.”

The US Dietary Guidelines are scheduled to be updated next year, and it seems quite likely that the new research will necessitate a revision of current guidance on alcohol.

2. More news from our ever-productive British cousins.

Dementia looms as one of the world’s greatest health risks. It’s already the leading cause of death in the UK, and the number of people with dementia is expected to nearly triple by 2050, to more than 150 million. There has been slow going on clinical interventions and drug treatments for dementia and Alzheimer’s but the latest report from the Lancet Commission on Dementia offers a certain amount of good news that behavioral and environmental changes could make an enormous difference in dementia prevalence going forward.

The new study, the third in a series and published just this week in the Lancet, reveals that nearly half of all dementia cases could be delayed or prevented altogether by addressing 14 possible risk factors. The risk factors identified by the researchers are:

• In early life, improving general education.
• In midlife, addressing hearing loss, high LDL cholesterol, depression, traumatic brain injury, physical inactivity, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, obesity and excessive alcohol.
• In later life, reducing social isolation, air pollution and vision loss.

Addressing all these factors would reduce dementia cases by 45%, according to the researchers. Of course, all these factors are unlikely to be addressed everywhere, all at once, or even sufficiently, but the new research gives policy makers a new roadmap to reduce the future impact of dementia.

3. We watch so you don't have to: The Sequel.

We have dreaded this moment for the last eight months and it is finally upon us. Yesterday, ABC announced the return of the Golden Bachelor franchise with the Golden Bachelorette, which will debut on September 18th. Book your fall plans accordingly.

The last we heard from the Goldens was in January, when the original Golden Bachelor, 72-year-old Gerry Turner, married his newfound love Theresa Nist, in a prime-time extravaganza on ABC. Sadly, the show lasted longer than the marriage, which ended three months later in divorce.

But hope springs eternal, and this time the golden Bachelorette has her shot at finding love. Joan Vassos, who dropped out of the first show so she could be with her daughter after childbirth, is the new star of the show, and she will choose from among 24 new suitors.

Duty calls, so starting next month, you can find us on our couch, pen in hand, ready to watch the new season... so you don’t have to. Watch this space for all the hot breaking Golden Bachelorette news come September 18.