For years, scientists have noted with some puzzlement that people who drink moderately seem less prone to heart attacks. They haven’t really known what to do about that information, though. They didn’t want to tell people who don’t drink alcohol that they should start: Far too many drinkers have trouble knowing when to stop. But might a bit of beer be helpful after all?
Chinese People Who Like a Bit of Beer:
Researchers have finally come up with a possible explanation about the benefit that moderate drinking provides for the heart. The study included 80,000 middle-aged Chinese people studied between 2006 and 2012. At the beginning of the study, they were asked about their alcohol intake and classified as never, light, moderate or heavy drinkers. Every two years blood was drawn to measure cholesterol levels.
What the Study Uncovered:
All participants had a drop in HDL cholesterol during the six years of the study. The levels of moderate drinkers dropped most slowly, however. The researchers defined moderate drinking as one drink every few days for women and one to two drinks a day for men.
They reported that a bit of beer had the most favorable effect; moderate beer drinkers had the slowest decline in beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. Too few of these Chinese study participants drank wine to be able to judge its effect, while consuming hard liquor did not appear to be helpful.
American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2016, Nov. 14, 2016, New Orleans
