Study: Alcohol May Reduce Men’s Heart Risk
Cheers to a healthier heart.
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Next time your old lady asks where you’re headed, don’t tell her you’re going to the bar. Tell her you’re going to do some heart attack prevention. She’ll think you’re headed to the gym instead of going to flirt with some cute bartender.
A new Spanish study suggests regular consumption of alcohol — beer, wine or liquor — reduces the risk of heart disease in men by a third or more. Ditto for women, but not enough to be statistically significant. This study is unique in that it separated ex-drinkers from lifelong teetotalers in hopes of better understanding the alcohol-heart health link.
Now don’t go wild, bubba. There is a catch… You still have to eat healthy foods, exercise and limit the overall amount of alcohol you consume. Yeah, bummer. Sure would be nice if you could tell yourself that weekend binge of booze and bar snacks was a health retreat.
Why is Spain significant? The country has low heart disease death rates in comparison to some other countries, but high levels of alcohol consumption. The study followed up with 15,630 men and 25,808 women ages 29 to 69, finding 609 of them had a heart attack or chest pains that required bypass or angioplasty.
Light drinking (about 1 glass of wine, 1 1/2 beers or less than a half-glass of hard liquor) reduced the risk of a cardiovascular event by 35%. Moderate drinking (about 2 glasses of wine, 2-4 beers, or a glass of hard liquor) reduced the risk by 51%.
It’s important to note that heavy boozing is still linked to some cancers as well as Cirrhosis. So use some common sense and don’t use this one study as an excuse to act like you’re still a frat boy. Unless you actually are a frat boy.
Personal anecdote: About 15 years ago, after my father had quadruple bypass surgery, his surgeon advised him to start drinking a couple of glasses of wine each night before bed. Easier said than done, considering he was a lifelong teetotaler. So yeah, doctors have been prescribing moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages to battle cardiovascular problems for years.