Drink moderately for healthier heart and longer life

Drinking moderate amount of alcohol helps in diminishing the risk of heart disease too, as alcohol is directly linked to high levels of good cholesterol production.

According to a recent research, a drink a day for women and two a day for men can help reduce the risk of death in patients with heart diseases or clogged arteries.

However, people who exceed the recommended limits for alcohol consumption witness no health benefits, revealed the research.

Data of 245207 people studied
The first study, conducted by Dr. Kenneth J. Mukamal of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, U.S. and his team, looked at the data of 245207 people out of which 10,670 deaths had occurred due to cardiovascular causes.

The data was collected by the National Health Interview Survey from 1987 to 2000 as a part of an annual survey.

The researchers further analyzed the data and classified the drinkers and non drinkers into six different categories i.e. never drinkers, lifetime infrequent drinkers, and former drinkers as well as light, moderate, and heavy current drinkers.

The study revealed that out of the survey participants, the light drinkers were at 31 percent lower risk of dying due to heart diseases than the non drinkers, while the moderate drinkers were at 38 percent lower risk than non drinkers.

More of alcohol was found to be no better as consumption of alcohol above the moderate level eliminated any risk reduction.

"Our results suggest that even in this well-designed study, the lower risk linked to moderate drinking remains," J. Mukamal told Reuters Health. "However, it also clearly confirms that the benefit is lost for excessive drinking."

Study conducted on 16000 heart patients
In order to better understand the health benefits of alcohol on heart patients, an Italian team analyzed past eight studies conducted on the effects of alcohol. The studies involved 16000 people with heart dysfunctions.

The researchers analyzed the relationship between alcohol consumption and death due to cardiovascular disease in the study group.

People who drank 5-10 grams of alcohol per day witnessed the maximum benefits in death prevention, while the ones who drank more than 25 grams per day were at an increased risk of death due to cardiovascular causes, claimed the study.

"Cardiovascular patients should be informed that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption (1 drink/day for women or up to 2 drinks/day for men) should not be harmful to their health, However, patients who don't drink regularly shouldn't be encouraged to start, and those who drink heavily should be encouraged to quit or at least sharply reduce their alcohol intake,” Dr. Arthur L. Klatsky of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, California, notes in an editorial accompanying the two studies.