Drinking for Heart Health a Myth?

Have you ever heard that drinking alcohol is good for your heart?

It appears that in a recent study, it has been found that any proof of this is not conclusive. I have always heard that drinking a glass of wine a day or just having one beer is good for your health, but researchers in a USA Today article say there is no solid evidence to be found.

"I cannot prove and I don't think anyone can prove that alcohol consumption can prevent anyone from dying or prevent heart attacks," says Kenneth Mukamal, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston. ‘But he says some studies show moderate drinking can boost levels of "good" HDL cholesterol and a hormone key to blood sugar control.’

In today’s world, one turns 21 and can then buy alcohol; however, drinking alcohol every day doesn’t make you healthy. Again, studies on this myth are inconclusive and evidence that drinking moderately helps health is on the decline according to researchers.

A few of the drinking tips the article suggests are:

• Women shouldn’t drink as much as men not only because we are smaller, but to Lori Mosca, a professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, there are other reasons women shouldn't "Our blood vessels have a different hormonal milieu," she says and women are more vulnerable to the anti-clotting effects of alcohol – something that could raise the risk of bleeding strokes.”

• I’ve always heard that a glass of wine a day will keep the doctor away, but that isn’t necessarily this case. "I don't want to be a killjoy," Mosca says. "But I would never recommend alcohol as a preventative intervention."

#hearthealth #drinkingtips #alcohol