Seniors: Drink to your health

updated 12:25 p.m. EST, Wed January 21, 2009

By Shahreen Abedin
CNN Medical Producer

(CNN) -- At 90, Melvin Seeman's daily objective is to enjoy every moment of life to its fullest.

Melvin Seeman knows that alcohol has cardiovascular benefits, and he also loves wine.

Melvin Seeman knows that alcohol has cardiovascular benefits, and he also loves wine.

He keeps busy by working part-time at the university where he taught sociology for 29 years, he has an active social life filled with concerts and travel, he goes out for walks three or four times a week, and just about every evening, he and his wife, Alice, share half of a bottle of wine together. "Preferably good wine," Seeman adds.

Seeman is well aware of the cardiovascular benefits that alcohol confers -- a bonus of his interest in wine.

Fortunately for Seeman, there's even more good news about the benefits of alcohol, specifically for his age group. A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that healthy seniors who consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol reduce their odds of developing physical disabilities or dying in the next five years by 23 percent, compared with either heavy drinkers or those who abstain.