One drink a day can keep the doctor away
Question from Sam, a reader: I've heard that drinking alcohol everyday can be good for you, especially wine... is that true?
Chris: The answer to this question is more clear-cut than most imagine. There is convincing data that shows alcohol consumption decreases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes in both men and women.
Alcohol does this by increasing you body's good cholesterol (HDL), enhancing how effectively your body uses insulin and decreasing inflammation.
Studies show light to moderate drinking has been shown to decrease your risk of heart attack by 30 to 50 percent, decrease your risk of diabetes by 30 percent and reduce your total risk of death by 18 percent.
But before you stop reading and run to the nearest liquor store -- I need to make clear what “light to moderate drinking” really means. In each of the studies that showed alcohol’s beneficial effects, the benchmark number of drinks was one daily drink for women and one to two daily drinks for men.
In fact, any amount higher than this actually increases your risk of disease. Consuming more than two drinks per day increases your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, heart attack, diabetes, stroke and a number of other diseases.
How often you drink also plays a role in alcohol’s beneficial effects. Drinking alcohol daily provides more health benefits than drinking once per week, but binge drinking increases your risk of heart attack and death.
So is there a specific kind of alcohol that is better for you than others?
The answer is no. Most studies have shown equal health benefits from all types of alcohol, including beer, wine and liquor.
University Hospital Cardiology Fellow Ashraf Al-Dadah believes in the benefits of wine.
“Two glasses of red wine for men and one glass of red wine for women per day has been shown to reduce the incidence of heart disease,” Al-Dadah said. “Studies have actually pointed towards reservatrol as the actual substance that has protective properties. It is found in the skin of red grapes and has anti-oxidant effects.”
While it’s difficult to argue with the health benefits of light to moderate drinking, it’s equally difficult to recommend drinking alcohol regularly due to the risk of alcohol abuse.
Alcohol abuse, which accounts for more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, can lead to increased health risks. So the key, as always, is moderation.