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Alcohol and cardiovascular disease
Should you drink alcohol to protect your heart? Guidelines for moderate drinking are to have no more than two drinks per day. If you are a man, have no more than 14 drinks in a week. If you are a woman, have less than nine. Binge drinking is four or more drinks over a short period of time.
Betty Ann Horbul
Tuesday December 05, 2006
Should you drink alcohol to protect your heart? Guidelines for moderate drinking are to have no more than two drinks per day. If you are a man, have no more than 14 drinks in a week. If you are a woman, have less than nine. Binge drinking is four or more drinks over a short period of time.
If you do not drink alcohol now, don’t start just to lower your risk of heart disease. The connection with alcohol and cardiovascular disease has been found in a number of areas.
The French Paradox is well known. The French have a high fat diet but lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Wine and the Mediterranean diet are thought to be the reasons.
For those who currently drink alcohol, the best advice is to have only one to two drinks per day. A woman should limit this to one. Binge drinking – more than four drinks per occasion, increases your risk for cardiovascular disease.
Wine, particularly red wine, is popularly thought to be of greatest benefit. The problem is that while wine does have benefits from grapes, also found in grape juice, there are also other factors. For example, those who drink wine tend to have a healthier diet than those who drink beer.
Another factor is that having a drink with a meal encourages social support. Therefore, healthy eating, social support, and social status may be responsible for the health effects seen with light drinking.
Pregnant women should not take any alcohol. The problem is that alcohol can cross the placental barrier and harm the brain and organs of the developing baby. This is referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
The bottom line is if you currently enjoy having one to two alcoholic drinks as part of a healthy meal, enjoyed with family and friends, this may help your heart. But if you don’t drink you do not have to start to have a heart healthy lifestyle. Include at least five servings of vegetables and fruit a day, choose lower fat foods more often, and choose higher fiber, whole grain foods. Be physically active every day.
For more information, contact the Porcupine Health Unit at 705-267-1181 (Timmins branch) or 705-336-2294 (Moosonee branch).
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