Researchers discovered that subjects who drank about two glasses of beer or wine a day were 18 percent less likely to experience a premature death, the Independent reports. Meanwhile, participants who exercised 15 to 45 minutes a day, cut the same risk by 11 percent. I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity, Kawas stated over the weekend at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Austin, Texas.