A drink or two a day could be beneficial to heart health, suggests two new Canadian studies recently published in the British Medical Journal.
After reviewing 84 different studies, researchers at the University of Calgary found that people who had an average of one drink a day were 14-25 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who abstained from drinking.
A separate group of researchers, also from the University of Calgary, reviewed 63 studies before arriving at the conclusion that moderate alcohol consumption improves the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol in the blood, helping to protect the heart against disease.
Between one and two glasses a day yields the best results, say the researchers. Men should aim for about 30g of alcohol a day – about a pint and a half of beer – while women need only half that, or roughly the amount contained in a glass of wine.
"There may now be an impetus to better communicate to the public that alcohol in moderation may have overall health benefits that outweigh the risks," said Professor William Ghali, lead researcher of the first study. "Any such strategy would need to be accompanied by rigorous study and oversight of impacts."