Alcohol & Heart Health

There are pros and cons in nearly everything in life, and consuming alcohol is no exception. Whether you have been drinking for years or have never had a sip, this article will show you the benefits and risks of alcohol consumption. PROS It has been well established that consuming alcohol plays a role in heart heath. A recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine showed that men who drank at least 3 or 4 days a week had fewer heart attacks than those who drank less. Does this mean that we are advocating drinking and if you don’t drink now, are we saying that you should start? Not necessarily. Whether, when, and how much you should drink is dependent on many other variables, such as: current state of health, medical history, family history, age, sex and other factors. Many studies have found that light or moderate drinkers have a lower risk of heart disease-30-50% lower. In addition, research has shown that if moderate drinkers do have a heart attack, they have a lower chance of dying than nondrinkers or heavy drinkers. Alcohol raises the HDL (“healthy”) cholesterol, which removes the bad cholesterol from the bloodstream and takes it back to the liver where it will get recycled, and thus helps prevent hardening of the arteries, atherosclerosis. In addition, alcohol reduces the stickiness of platelets in the blood and therefore helps prevent the blood clots that cause heart attacks.

CONS The American Cancer Society lists alcohol as a risk factor for breast cancer, but that is for heavy alcohol drinkers. Studies have yielded conflicting results for moderate and light drinkers. In addition to breast cancer, alcohol consumption can exacerbate the chances of getting other kinds of cancers, such as: cancers of the mouth, esophagus, liver bladder, pancreas and colon. If you are pregnant, trying to conceive or nursing you should abstain from alcohol altogether. Alcohol harms the fetus and the nursing infant and is a leading cause of birth defects and mental retardation.