Kinds of Alcohol

Methanol

Methyl alcohol, or methanol, has a boiling point of 65 degrees Celsius and is flammable.
The formula for methanol is CH3OH. Uses for methanol include obtaining formaldehyde,
synthetic gasoline, plastic masses and coloring matter. Methanol is poisonous.

Ethanol

Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is the alcohol that people can drink. The boiling point is 78
degrees Celsius and is also flammable. Ethanol can be used as a fuel on its own or as a
mixture. It will burn to give off carbon dioxide and water. Ethanol is also added to
perfumes and cosmetics.

Propanol

Propanol, also known as propyl alcohol, is commonly used as a solvent in everything

from printing ink to cosmetics. It is also used in the production of raw materials such as
amphetamines. Physical properties include colorless, smelling similar to ethanol with a
boiling point of 97.15 degrees Celsius.

Glycerol

Glycerol, which may be known as glycerin, is found today as a byproduct in the

manufacturing of soaps and is not poisonous to humans. It can be found in medicines and
numerous food products such as ice cream. It is thick in consistency with a sweet taste.
Glycerol will turn into a solid once it is cooled.

Butanol

Butanol, or butyl alcohol, is a clear, flammable liquid with a boiling point of 170 degrees
Celsius. It is volatile with a strong alcoholic odor. It is used as a solvent for paints and in
the production of all sorts of products ranging from safety glass to brake fluid.
http://www.ehow.com/list_6906881_types-alcohol-chemistry.html

Importance of alcohols
Alcohols are the compounds which contain hydroxyl group (OH) in the molecule. Ethanol and
methanol are the main useful compounds of alcohols.
1. Ethanol is used in alcoholic drinks. In fact the alcohol in alcoholic beverages is ethanol.
2. Ethanol is used in the manufacture of methylated spirit. Methylated spirit is a very useful
compound usually used in sterilization of thermometer, skin etc. It also contains small amount of
methanol (poisonous compound) which makes it highly toxic for human consumption.
3. Ethanol and methanol both can be used as fuel. They burn in oxygen and produce water and
carbon dioxide. Gasohol is mixture of alcohol and petrol. The use of gasohol decreases import
of expensive petrol from other countries. Since alcohol can easily be prepared by fermentation,
their use as fuel saves money.
4. Ethanol is also used as solvent. Indeed it is the best solvent because it is not harmful. The
perfume you use also contains ethanol as a solvent.
chem_guy
https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100821014134AAXN1FS

Solubility in water
Alcohols are soluble in water. This is due to the hydroxyl group in the alcohol which is able to
form hydrogen bons with water molecules. Alcohols with a smaller hydrocarbon chain are very
soluble. As the length of the hydrocarbon chain increases, the solubility in water decreases.
With four carbon in the hydrocarbon chain and higher, the decrease in solubility becomes
visible as the mixture forms two immiscible layers of liquid. The reason why the solubility
decreases as the length of hydrocarbon chain increases is because it is requires more energy to
overcome the hydrogen bonds between the alcohol molecules as the molecules are more
tightly packed together as the size and mass increases.
Boiling point

This graph shows the comparison of boiling points of methane with methanol, ethane with
ethanol, propane with propanol, and butane with butanol.
From the graph we can see that the boiling point of an alcohol is always much higher than the
boiling point of the corresponding alkane with the same hydrocarbon chain. The boiling point of
alcohols also increase as the length of hydrocarbon chain increases.

The reason why alcohols have a higher boiling point than alkanes is because the intermolecular
forces of alcohols are hydrogen bonds, unlike alkanes with van der Waals forces as their
intermolecular forces.

Alcohols turns from liquid to solid at room temperature and pressure (rtp) as the length of the
hydrocarbon chain in the alcohol increases.

The factors affecting the boiling/melting points of alcohols are not only hydrogen bonds, but
also van der Waals dispersion forces and dipole-dipole interactions.
The hydrogen bonds and dipole-dipole interactions will remain relatively the same throughout
the series of alcohols. The van der Waals dispersion forces increase as the length of
hydrocarbon chain increases. This is due to the increase in number of electrons in the
molecules, which in turns increases the strength and size of the temporarily induced dipoledipole attraction. Hence, more energy is required to overcome the intermolecular forces,
resulting in the increase in boiling/melting points.

Viscosity
Viscosity is the property of a fluid that resists the force tending to cause the fluid to flow.

The viscosity of alcohols increase as the size of the molecules increases. This is because the
strength of the intermolecular forces increases, holding the molecules more firmly in place.

Polarity
Amide > Acid > Alcohol > Ketone ~ Aldehyde > Amine > Ester > Ether > Alkane
Amide is the most polar while alkane is the least.

Alcohol is ranked third in terms of polarity due to its hydrogen bonding capabilities and
presence of one oxygen atom in an alcohol molecule. Carboxylic acids are more polar than
alcohols because there are two oxygen atoms present in a carboxylic acid molecule.

Flammability
The flammability of alcohols decrease as the size and mass of the molecules increases.
Combustion breaks the covalent bonds of the molecules, so as the size and mass of the
molecules increases, there are more covalent bonds to break in order to burn that alcohol.
Hence, more energy is required to break the bonds, therefore the flammability of alcohols
decrease as size and mass of molecules increases.

Chemical properties:

Combustion
Alcohols burns in oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. Alcohols burn cleanly and
easily, and does not produce soot. It becomes increasingly more difficult to burn alcohols as the
molecules get bigger.

The general molecular equation for the reaction is:

CnH2n+1OH + (1.5n)O2 (n+1)H2O + nCO2

e.g. combustion of ethanol:

C2H5OH (l) + 3 O2 (g) 2 CO2 (g) + 3 H2O (g); (Hc = 1371 kJ/mol)

Dehydration
- alcohol to alkene
Dehydration of alcohols is done by heating with concentrated sulfuric acid, which acts as the
dehydrating agent, at 180C. This reaction uses alcohols to produce corresponding alkenes and
water as byproduct.

e.g. dehydration of ethanol:

Oxidation - alcohol to carboxylic acid

Alcohols can be oxidised into carboxylic acids.
e.g. oxidation of ethanol:
C2H5OH + *O+ CH3COOH + H2O
Oxidation can be done by using oxidising agents such as acidified potassium dichromate (VI),
acidified potassium manganate (VII)..

...or atmospheric oxygen.

Ethanol, if left exposed to air, can oxidise and become ethanoic acid. An example is wine
turning sour as the alcohol content, which is ethanol, is oxidised by atmospheric oxygen.

Esterification
Alcohols can be reacted with carboxylic acid to form esters. More of this will be explained
under Formation of esters

https://sites.google.com/site/chemistryolp/properties-of-alcohols

Manila Beer 7% alcohol content

(notable mention: Manila Beer Light 5% alcohol content and less than 110 calories, fewer than San
Mig Light)

OK, so I might be a bit biased as our blog is called When In Manila and we did decide to include
Manila Beer here, but really, there has been a growing number of people who are enjoying Manila
Beer and slowly converting towards this new product.

So I guess you can say theres a BUZZ about Manila Beer get it BUZZ get it?!.

Anyway, along try this all malt strong beer and youll quickly notice the firm taste it has. Better is that
the light version supposedly has the least amount of calories especially when compared to the
market leader.

San Mig Light = less than 130 calories

Manila Beer Light = less than 110 calories

Change is a good thing. Youll never know what youre missing until you try it out. So I do
recommend you try out Manila Beer or Manila Beer Light When In Manila

9. San Mig Strong Ice 6.3% alcohol

Have you heard of Ice Filtered Beer? Well other than that enticing aspect, youll find San Mig
Strong Ice usually in their below zero degree servings as made popular by their parent company,
San Miguel Brewery. This type of serving supposedly makes you taste less of the alcohol (great for
girls I guess) and helps numb your throat a bit so you can take bigger chugs.

San Mig Strong Ice is a high-alcohol pale amber lager.

That extra kick of alcohol plus being served ICE COLD always make this a crowd favorite and I do
have to admit, this (very literally) cold-one is great to have after a long days work. Highly
recommended to chug while cold.

8. San Miguel Premium All-Malt Beer 5% alcohol content

San Miguel Premium All-Malt Beer has a malty flavor with pleasant hoppy notes. It is full-flavored
with a smooth balanced bitterness. It is slightly sweetish in taste and has medium to full body.

Im not the biggest fan of this, and for malt beers I would prefer the Manila Beer, but my friends
swear that they love the taste of this. For something named a premium beer, Id have to say that it
lacks flavor for me. But worthy enough to make the list. Try it out and judge for yourself.

7. Beer na Beer 5% alcohol content

The direct competitor of San Miguel Pale Pilsen but brewed by Asia Breweries. They describe
themselves to have a Smooth, clean refreshing beer taste. Beer na Beer won 3 Monde
Selection Gold Medals in Brussels. Though despite the awards it garnered for quality, Filipinos have
remained loyal to San Miguel Pale Pilsen because of their familiarity and strong marketing
campaigns of San Miguel.

Most foreigners ask what Beer na Beer means? Well, technically na is used to emphasize that this
is supposedly a really good beer. Like when someone asks you: Was the movie any good? and
you say: It was good then they follow up with: Was it good, good? and you finally finish with:
Yeah, it was good, good. Well. something like that. Or even saying that this is the Beer of
Beers!

6. Cerveza Negra 5% alcohol content

Cerveza Negra has roasted malty notes which extends to its taste. It is full-flavored and full bodied.
Bitterness is moderate but still smooth. Its a dark lager beer and as such, there are some that call it
the San Miguel Dark Lager.

With a cult following like Cerveza Negras its hard not to include it in the list. Do note that this taste
may not be for everyone, but its definitely worth the try.

5. Colt 45 7.2% alcohol content

Ok so Im a big biased towards strong beers as I do prefer beers with lots of flavor and a good kick
to them! And yes, some of you are screaming that Colt 45 is made in the USA and not really a local
Filipino Beer. Well, I had to include it on this list as the Philippines has one of the biggest fan bases
of Cold 45 that I know of! I mean I dont really see a lot of people ordering this even when I lived in
the States. But here in Manila, there are commercials, girls, posters and the whole 9 yards for Colt
45. It has a feel of being a local beer and Ive know people who actually thought it was a local beer.

Colt 45 is known for its distinct bold taste and strong kick. They boast to be the strongest beer in the
Philippine market with their 7.2% alcohol content.

4. Red Horse Beer 6.8% alcohol content

Red Horse Beer is a beer with a distinctive taste and extra satisfying strength of a world class
premium strong beer. Its one of the best strong beers in the Philippines and people love it for the full
flavored taste to it. It has a little bit of a sweeter sensation to it due to the larger amount of hops in its
recipe. So, some girls actually prefer Red Horse due to this sweetness.

Furthermore, the urban legend of the Happy Horse keeps people from coming back too. It states
that there are mixed in Red Horse bottles which you can find via the logo, where rare bottles have a
logo of a (seemingly) smiling / laughing horse rather than the regular stoic / pokerfaced horse.
Rumor has it that these Happy Horse bottles have (depending on the storyteller) from 2x-4x the
alcohol content of regular Red Horse Beers.

Unfortunately, the happy horse having a stronger kick is a myth. They are the same brew because
they come from the same line in the brewing process. The only difference between the happy horse
and the regular Red Horse is the packaging. What they call the happy horse is the old packaging.
Red Horse changed a little bit of their logo in 1992 which resulted in new bottles being made. The
old bottles (happy horse) still exist because RH bottles are recycled and cleaned. Their life span is
20 years before they get discarded.

Either way, its still a good beer and its usually what I get for the local beers in Manila or the
Philippines.

Mythical Happy Horse smiling on the left while the regular Red Horse on the right

3. San Miguel Pale Pilsen 5% alcohol content

This was the undisputed champion of champions for beers from back in the day. Our dads, our dads
dads and our dads dads dads all went through life chugging one of these. It has old school written
all over it! Which is probably why the young and hip prefer a different beer for their image.

San Miguel Pale Pilsen has a slight hoppy note with a distinct bitter hop character. It has a wellbalanced medium body and is smooth on the palate with a pleasant clean finish.

Its the most popular brew of the Philippines. With its unique bottle color, size and shape, most
locals prefer this than any other local beer.

This beer has been become a part of Philippine popular culture and has a cult following with
balikbayans and OFWs. This is also the most widely known Philippine Beer throughout the world.

2. Tanduay Ice 5% alcohol content

Now Tanduay Ice definitely takes this spot for the best alcoholic beverages in Manila. Yes, I know
its not really a beer, but I sort of consider it a ladies beer and yes, I know lots of guys drink this
too, but hey, lots of guys are very feminine as well OK what Im saying is that though Im not the
biggest fan of girlie drinks like this for myself, nor do I really think guys should be drinking this
each person has their own opinion and you can drink whatever the hell you want. Besides, as their
slogan goes: Masarap ang Bawal or loosly translated: Its wrong but it feels so good.

Anyway, back to why Tanduay Ice is #2 on our Top 10 Best Filipino Drinks

This drink is actually REALLY young as compared to all the other drinks on this list that have been
around since your mothers mother and may be the reasons that you are here today (if you know
what I mean). But Tanduay Ice quickly took the nightlife bar and club scene by storm when it came
into the market fairly recently and has developed a loyal fan base of both girls and guys.

The makers claim that Tanduay Ice contains just the right alcohol, right sweetness and good mouth
feel. I guess the best thing to compare it to is Smirnoff Ice, if youre a tourist. It also comes in a few

other flavors, but Ive heard that the original is still the best. So try it out if youre up for something
other than beer. And really, if youre a girl, youll love this.

1. San Mig Light 5% alcohol content

Of course, the leader in this industry is the powerhouse of the San Miguel Brewery. Theyve been
here since Magellan discovered the Philippines and rumor has it that the first Filipino native hero:
Lapu-Lapu, was actually drinking an earlier version of this of course, it might just be a rumor.

Anyway, San Mig Light is the NEW #1 drink to have in your hand at any bar. I say NEW as the San
Miguel Pale Pilsen used to be the coolest beer but I guess its an image thing where the young, hip
and cool kids today dont really want to be seen with the same beer that their dads were holding
when they went to Mars Disco back in the day. It may have to do with the branding, the healthconscious low calorie needs of todays generation or the more appealing packaging, but San Mig
Light is the top choice for most party goers in Manila and the Philippines today.

San Miguel Pale Pilsen and SMLs alcohol contents are the same. Its 5% by volume. The difference
is the calorie content. San Mig Light can be classified as a light beer because it has less than 130
calories.

Also, it doesnt hurt that they always have the HOTTEST endorsers like hottie Sam Pinto below:

So When In Manila, what are you waiting for?!? Go out and experience that Manila nightlife like
never before! Be sure to try out these drinks on our Top 10 best alcoholic drinks in the
Philippines / Top Ten best beers in Manila!

Structure and Physical Properties of Alcohols

The structure of an alcohol is similar to that of water, with a bent shape. This geometrical
arrangement reflects the effect of electron repulsion and the increasing steric bulk of the
substituents on the central oxygen atom. Like water, alcohols are polar, containing an
unsymmetrical distribution of charge between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The high
electronegativity of the oxygen compared to carbon leads to the shortening and strengthening
of the -OH bond. The presence of the -OH groups allows for hydrogen bonding with other -OH
groups, hydrogen atoms, and other molecules. Since alcohols are able to hydrogen bond, their
boiling points are higher than that of their parent molecules.

Alcohols are able to participate in many chemical reactions. Alcohols often undergo
deprotonation in the presence of a strong base. This weak acid behavior results in the
formation in an alkoxide salt and a water molecule. Hydroxyl groups are not considered good
leaving groups. Often their participation in nucleophilic substitution reactions are instigated by
the protonation of the oxygen atom, leading to the formation a water moietya better leaving
group. Alcohols can react with carboxylic acids to form an ester, and they can be oxidized to
aldehydes or carboxylic acids.

Alcohols have many uses in our everyday world. They are found in beverages, antifreeze,
antiseptics, and fuels. They can be used as preservatives for specimens in science, and they can
be used in industry as reagents and solventsthey display an ability to dissolve both polar and
non-polar substances.

Source: Boundless. Alcohols. Boundless Chemistry. Boundless, 18 Nov. 2014. Retrieved 21

Nov. 2014 from https://www.boundless.com/chemistry/textbooks/boundless-chemistrytextbook/organic-chemistry-23/functional-group-names-properties-and-reactions166/alcohols-638-7231/

The different kinds of alcohols

Alcohols fall into different classes depending on how the -OH group is positioned on the chain
of carbon atoms. There are some chemical differences between the various types.

Primary alcohols

In a primary (1) alcohol, the carbon which carries the -OH group is only attached to one alkyl
group.

Note: An alkyl group is a group such as methyl, CH3, or ethyl, CH3CH2. These are groups
containing chains of carbon atoms which may be branched. Alkyl groups are given the general
symbol R.

Some examples of primary alcohols include:

Notice that it doesn't matter how complicated the attached alkyl group is. In each case there is
only one linkage to an alkyl group from the CH2 group holding the -OH group.

There is an exception to this. Methanol, CH3OH, is counted as a primary alcohol even though
there are no alkyl groups attached to the carbon with the -OH group on it.

Secondary alcohols

In a secondary (2) alcohol, the carbon with the -OH group attached is joined directly to two
alkyl groups, which may be the same or different.

Examples:

Tertiary alcohols

In a tertiary (3) alcohol, the carbon atom holding the -OH group is attached directly to three
alkyl groups, which may be any combination of same or different.

Examples:

Physical properties of alcohols

Boiling Points

The chart shows the boiling points of some simple primary alcohols with up to 4 carbon atoms.

They are:

They are compared with the equivalent alkane (methane to butane) with the same number of
carbon atoms.

Notice that:

The boiling point of an alcohol is always much higher than that of the alkane with the same
number of carbon atoms.

The boiling points of the alcohols increase as the number of carbon atoms increases.

The patterns in boiling point reflect the patterns in intermolecular attractions.

Note: If you aren't happy about intermolecular forces (including van der Waals dispersion
forces and hydrogen bonds) then you really ought to follow this link before you go on. The next
bit won't make much sense to you if you aren't familiar with the various sorts of intermolecular
forces.
Use the BACK button on your browser to return to this page.

Hydrogen bonding

Hydrogen bonding occurs between molecules where you have a hydrogen atom attached to
one of the very electronegative elements - fluorine, oxygen or nitrogen.

In the case of alcohols, there are hydrogen bonds set up between the slightly positive hydrogen
atoms and lone pairs on oxygens in other molecules.

The hydrogen atoms are slightly positive because the bonding electrons are pulled away from
them towards the very electronegative oxygen atoms.

Note: If you want to be fussy, the diagram is slightly misleading in that it suggests that all of the
lone pairs on the oxygen atoms are forming hydrogen bonds. In an alcohol that can't happen.
Taking the alcohol as a whole, there are only half as many slightly positive hydrogen atoms as
there are lone pairs. At any one time, half of the lone pairs in the total liquid alcohol won't have
hydrogen bonds from them because there aren't enough slightly positive hydrogens to go
around.
In the diagram, to show the 3-dimensional arrangement, the wedge-shaped lines show bonds
coming out of the screen or paper towards you. The dotted bonds (other than the hydrogen
bonds) show bonds going back into the screen or paper away from you.

In alkanes, the only intermolecular forces are van der Waals dispersion forces. Hydrogen bonds
are much stronger than these and therefore it takes more energy to separate alcohol molecules
than it does to separate alkane molecules.

That's the main reason that the boiling points are higher.

The effect of van der Waals forces . . .

. . . on the boiling points of the alcohols:

Hydrogen bonding isn't the only intermolecular force in alcohols. There are also van der Waals
dispersion forces and dipole-dipole interactions.

The hydrogen bonding and the dipole-dipole interactions will be much the same for all the
alcohols, but the dispersion forces will increase as the alcohols get bigger.

These attractions get stronger as the molecules get longer and have more electrons. That
increases the sizes of the temporary dipoles that are set up.

This is why the boiling points increase as the number of carbon atoms in the chains increases. It
takes more energy to overcome the dispersion forces, and so the boiling points rise.

. . . on the comparison between alkanes and alcohols:

Even if there wasn't any hydrogen bonding or dipole-dipole interactions, the boiling point of the
alcohol would be higher than the corresponding alkane with the same number of carbon atoms.

Compare ethane and ethanol:

Ethanol is a longer molecule, and the oxygen brings with it an extra 8 electrons. Both of these
will increase the size of the van der Waals dispersion forces and so the boiling point.

If you were doing a really fair comparison to show the effect of the hydrogen bonding on
boiling point it would be better to compare ethanol with propane rather than ethane. The
length would then be much the same, and the number of electrons is exactly the same.

Solubility of alcohols in water

The small alcohols are completely soluble in water. Whatever proportions you mix them in, you
will get a single solution.

However, solubility falls as the length of the hydrocarbon chain in the alcohol increases. Once
you get to four carbons and beyond, the fall in solubility is noticeable, and you may well end up
with two layers in your test tube.

The solubility of the small alcohols in water

Consider ethanol as a typical small alcohol. In both pure water and pure ethanol the main
intermolecular attractions are hydrogen bonds.

In order to mix the two, you would have to break the hydrogen bonds between the water
molecules and the hydrogen bonds between the ethanol molecules. It needs energy to do both
of these things.

However, when the molecules are mixed, new hydrogen bonds are made between water
molecules and ethanol molecules.

The energy released when these new hydrogen bonds are made more or less compensates for
that needed to break the original ones.

In addition, there is an increase in the disorder of the system - an increase in entropy. That is
another factor in deciding whether things happen or not.

Note: If you haven't come across entropy before, don't worry about it. I mention it because the
energy released when the new bonds are made isn't quite enough to compensate for breaking
the old ones, meaning that the mixing process is endothermic. If it weren't for the increase in
entropy, the solution wouldn't be formed.
To really understand this, you need to have studied entropy and free energy. If you should
know about this, but aren't happy about the calculations involved, you might like to have a look
at chapter 11 of my chemistry calculations book.

The lower solubility of bigger alcohols

Imagine what happens when you have got, say, 5 carbon atoms in each alcohol molecule.

The hydrocarbon chains are forcing their way between water molecules and so breaking
hydrogen bonds between those water molecules.

The -OH end of the alcohol molecules can form new hydrogen bonds with water molecules, but
the hydrocarbon "tail" doesn't form hydrogen bonds

That means that quite a lot of the original hydrogen bonds being broken aren't replaced by new
ones.

All you get in place of those original hydrogen bonds are van der Waals dispersion forces
between the water and the hydrocarbon "tails". These attractions are much weaker. That
means that you don't get enough energy back to compensate for the hydrogen bonds being
broken. Even allowing for the increase in disorder, the process becomes less feasible.

As the length of the alcohol increases, this situation just gets worse, and so the solubility falls.
1. It Can Lower Your Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease
The School of Public Health at Harvard University found that "moderate amounts of alcohol raises levels of
high-density lipoprotein, HDL, or 'good' cholesterol and higher HDL levels are associated with greater
protection against heart disease. Moderate alcohol consumption has also been linked with beneficial changes
ranging from better sensitivity to insulin to improvements in factors that influence blood clotting....Such
changes would tend to prevent the formation of small blood clots that can block arteries in the heart, neck, and
brain, the ultimate cause of many heart attacks and the most common kind of stroke." This finding is
applicable to both men and women who have not been previously diagnosed with any type of cardiovascular
disease.

2. It Can Lengthen Your Life

Drinking occasionally could add a few years to your life. A study by the Catholic University of Campobasso
reported that drinking less than four or two drinks per day for men and women respectively could reduce the
risk of death by 18 percent, as reported by Reuters. "Little amounts, preferably during meals, this appears to be
the right way (to drink alcohol)," said Dr. Giovanni de Gaetano of Catholic University, another author on the
study. "This is another feature of the Mediterranean diet, where alcohol, wine above all, is the ideal partner of
a dinner or lunch, but that's all: the rest of the day must be absolutely alcohol-free."

3. It Can Improve Your Libido

Contrary to prior beliefs, newer research has found that moderate drinking might actually protect against
erectile dysfunction in the same way that drinking red wine might benefit heart disease. In a
2009 study published in the, Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers found that the chances of erectile
dysfunction were reduced by 25 to 30 percent among alcohol drinkers. The lead researcher, Kew-Kim Chew,
an epidemiologist at the University of West Australia, conducted the study with 1,770 Australian men. In his
study, Chew cautiously noted that he and his team in no way are advising men to hit the bottle, and that further
research is needed to accurately connect impotence and alcohol consumption.

4. It Helps Prevent Against the Common Cold

The Department of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University found that while susceptibility to the common
cold was increased by smoking, moderate alcohol consumption led to a decrease in common cold cases for
nonsmokers. This study was conducted in 1993 with 391 adults. In 2002, according to the New York
Times, Spanish researchers found that by drinking eight to 14 glasses of wine per week, particularly red wine,
one could see a 60-percent reduction in the risk of developing a cold. The scientists suspected that this had
something to do with the antioxidant properties of wine.

5. It Can Decrease Chances Of Developing Dementia

In a study that included more than 365,000 participants since 1977, as reported in the journalNeuropsychiatric
Disease and Treatment, moderate drinkers were 23 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment or
Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. "Small amounts of alcohol might, in effect, make brain cells
more fit. Alcohol in moderate amounts stresses cells and thus toughens them up to cope with major stresses
down the road that could cause dementia," said Edward J. Neafsey, Ph.D., co-author of the study, as reported
by Science Daily. "We don't recommend that nondrinkers start drinking," Neafsey said. "But moderate
drinking if it is truly moderate can be beneficial."

6. It Can Reduce The Risk Of Gallstones

Drinking two units of alcohol per day can reduce the risk of gallstones by one-third, according to researchers at
the University of East Anglia. The study found that those who reported consuming two UK units of alcohol per
day had a one-third reduction in their risk of developing gallstones. "Researchers emphasized that their
findings show the benefits of moderate alcohol intake but stress that excessive alcohol intake can cause health
problems," according to the study.

7. Lowers The Chance Of Diabetes

Results of a Dutch study showed that healthy adults who drink one to two glasses per day have a decreased
chance of developing type 2 diabetes, in comparison to those who don't drink at all. "The results of the
investigation show that moderate alcohol consumption can play a part in a healthy lifestyle to help reduce the
risk of developing diabetes type 2," researchers said in a statement to Reuters.