Moderate drinkers tend to have better health and live longer than those who are either abstainers or heavy drinkers. They are generally less likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, arthritis, enlarged prostate, dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), and several major cancers.

Asked to explain his longevity, Winston Churchill said, “Smoke good cigars and drink fine brandy.” He considered these rites, not vices.

“Beer specifically has been associated with additional health outcomes, including lowering the risk of kidney stones in men compared to other alcoholic beverages, possibly due to its high water content and diuretic effect,” Giancoli said. “Compounds in hops may also slow the release of calcium from bone that is implicated in kidney stones. Additionally, beer drinkers seem to have a more protective effect towards greater bone mineral density due to the high content of silicone in beer.”

To reach the death risk experienced by alcohol abstainers, a man would have to consume 63 units per week. That’s equivalent to drinking about a bottle of wine or five shots of whiskey each day.

A new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that — for reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one's risk of dying. The new study provides the strongest evidence yet that moderate drinking is not only fun but good for you. So make mine a double.

"What is the secret to a long life?" Aggie Fenton (Age 105): "Work hard and drink good booze." Aggie has been drinking 3 beer and a shot of Scotch each day for almost 70 years. Living a long life may have more to do with DNA than what you eat or drink, researchers said.