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Alcohol has been used medicinally throughout recorded history and even as early as 1900 there was evidence that moderate consumption of alcohol was associated with a decrease in the risk of heart attack (coronary artery disease) in particular. The evidence of health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption has continued to grow consistently since then. The Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism wrote that "Numerous well-designed studies have concluded that moderate drinking is associated with improved cardiovascular health," and the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association reported that "The lowest mortality occurs in those who consume one or two drinks per day." In addition, a World Health Organization Technical Committee on Cardiovascular Disease concluded that the relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and reduced death from heart disease could no longer be doubted. Why should this be?- Alcohol improves blood lipid profile by increasing HDL ("good") cholesterol and decreasing LDL ("bad") cholesterol;
- Alcohol decreases risk of thrombosis (blood clotting) by reducing platelet aggregation and fibrinogen (a blood clotter), and increasing fibrinolysis (the process by which clots dissolve);
- Alcohol reduces coronary artery spasm in response to stress;
- It increases coronary blood flow;
- It reduces blood pressure;
- It reduces blood insulin level;
- It increases estrogen levels.
A great number of studies have found that moderate drinkers also tend to have better health and live longer than those who are either abstainers or heavy drinkers.
What Is Moderation?
Medical researchers generally describe moderation as one to three drinks per day. It appears that consuming less than about half a drink per day is associated with only very small health benefits. And, of course, recovering alcoholics, those with any adverse reactions to alcohol, and those advised against drinking by their physicians should abstain.
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