How much alcohol is safe? It varies from one person to the next
A decent body of
research has made the phrases "consume alcohol in moderation" and
"good for the heart" go together like gin and tonic. But moderate
drinking may not be good for everyone, so a personalized approach is best,
reports the November 2014 Harvard Men's Health Watch.
"For some people, depending on what medications you are
taking and other factors, even light drinking might not be a good thing,"
says Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, associate professor of medicine at Harvard-affiliated
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "For other people, moderate drinking
could plausibly be beneficial." “Moderate” when applied to alcohol means
no more than two drinks a day for men and no more than one a day for women.
Healthy drinking?
Many studies have found a statistical link between light to
moderate drinking and better health. Moderate drinkers appear to suffer fewer
heart attacks and strokes, less diabetes, and stronger bones in older age,
compared with people who drink lightly or not at all. In addition, some
research finds that people who consume between two and six standard drinks per
week—an average of less than one drink per day—are less likely to have cardiovascular
disease.
But these findings don't necessarily mean that alcohol
itself is responsible for the healthy pattern. Perhaps moderate drinkers also
eat healthier foods, exercise more, and control stress better.
Or, it might be that people who don't drink are generally in poorer health, so they don't ...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
More News: Alcoholism | Cancer | Cancer & Oncology | Cardiology | Cardiovascular | Diabetes | Endocrinology | Harvard | Health | Heart | Heart Disease | Middle East Health | Smokers | Sports Medicine | Statistics | Stroke | Study | Women