Alcohol in moderation, helps heart


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An alcoholic drink a day can help keep heart disease at bay, according to a review of 30 years of research.

The work, published in the British Medical Journal, showed a 14% to 25% reduction in heart disease in moderate drinkers compared with people who had never drunk alcohol.

Another article, by the same Canadian research group, showed alcohol increased "good" cholesterol levels.

But experts said this was not a reason to start drinking.

For many years, studies have suggested that drinking alcohol in moderation has some health benefits.

The researchers also say regular moderate drinking reduced all forms of cardiovascular disease by up to 25%.

However, while consuming small quantities of alcohol had a beneficial effect on the number of strokes and stroke deaths, the risk increased substantially with heavier drinking.

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I wonder if it's due to the fact that is reduces stress in a sort while drinking it. It seems kinda odd that a poison would help us live longer, but life is wacky like that sometimes!

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I've heard this many many times, and the #1 problem with these research studies is they are not based off of factual evidence(such as drug pharmacology, biology). They are based off of statistics. It's simply a correlation study. They run statistics of a large population, asking them their drinking habits, and deducing the results from there. The results, as you have said here, are that drinking in moderation helps the heart, however these results are simply correlation. It's entirely possible that the only reason these results show up is because people who drink in moderation have healthier lifestyles in general. It may just be a sociological behavior that seems to have popped up somehow, and may be entirely unrelated to alcohol being beneficial in any way.

There are other factors that can be taken into account, such as the fact that alcohol is actually quite toxic, and other drugs that are very similar to alcohol while not being toxic at all haven't been shown to be beneficial for the heart. The reason for this is these drugs are not freely available, and are only accessible to people with certain mood disorders or people who have abuse the drugs. It's entirely possible that moderate alcohol use may have zero benefits for the heart.

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Fatty Acids are probably dissolved in ethanol. Red Wines especially are good for you.

Ick, red wines are no good. Unless I've just had bad wine.. g/f's parents bought some that was decent but the kind I bought was dry as a popcorn fart and just..gross.

I've heard it is good for you though..

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Usquebaugh (The Water Of Life) is reputed to keep you living forever if you just drink the right amount everyday! The right amount everyday is the difficult part! :laugh:

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I've heard this many many times, and the #1 problem with these research studies is they are not based off of factual evidence(such as drug pharmacology, biology). They are based off of statistics. It's simply a correlation study. They run statistics of a large population, asking them their drinking habits, and deducing the results from there. The results, as you have said here, are that drinking in moderation helps the heart, however these results are simply correlation. It's entirely possible that the only reason these results show up is because people who drink in moderation have healthier lifestyles in general. It may just be a sociological behavior that seems to have popped up somehow, and may be entirely unrelated to alcohol being beneficial in any way.

There are other factors that can be taken into account, such as the fact that alcohol is actually quite toxic, and other drugs that are very similar to alcohol while not being toxic at all haven't been shown to be beneficial for the heart. The reason for this is these drugs are not freely available, and are only accessible to people with certain mood disorders or people who have abuse the drugs. It's entirely possible that moderate alcohol use may have zero benefits for the heart.

Very well put and welcome to Neowin (Y)

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While I agree this simply shows a correlation, any review of 30 years of research has got to be good. 25% reduced risk is a large difference. Worth knowing about at least.

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