alcohol helps heart disease

A drink may help high blood pressure risk Reuters/Yahoo!News 1/2/07 "The study of 11,000 men supports other research that shows small-to-moderate amounts of alcohol can lower the risk of heart disease, by increasing the levels of high density lipoprotein, or "good" cholesterol, and by making blood less likely to clot..."Men diagnosed with hypertension probably get a lot of advice on how to change their lifestyle, physical activity and diet," said Joline Beulens, who led the study. "This study indicates that if they drink alcohol in moderation they may not need to change their drinking habits""

Another study that shows there is a "two drink" minimum/maximum to heart health. Much less and you don't get as much benefit, more and you hurt your health.

Beer (3-6%) 1 drink = 12oz
Wine 1 drink = 5oz
80 proof liquor (really?) 1 drink = 1.5 oz
100 proof (what are you doing!!) = 1oz

As much as I love good beer it's hard to argue with switching most drinking over to red wine since there is a chance to offset the increased risk of various cancers with alcohol. "A convincing relationship has been shown between alcohol consumption and cancers of the mouth and pharynx, larynx, esophagus and liver. In addition, alcohol is probably linked to cancers of the colon, rectum and breast, and possibly related to lung cancer." However red wine has anti-cancer properties and helps fight heart disease "the Copenhagen City Heart Study, in which 13,285 men and women were observed for 12 years. The results from this study suggested that patients who drank wine had half the risk of dying from coronary heart disease or stroke as those who never drank wine. Those who drank beer and spirits did not experience this advantage. The additional benefit of red wine is supported further by an analysis of 13 studies involving 209,418 participants."

I keep hoping that studies will show that fresh micro brewed beer, esp. the hoppy kind is even better for health than wine.

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