Tap Into the Benefits of Alcohol

Drink to a higher HDL and a healthier heart.

Reducing the Risk

By now the "French paradox" is old news. The phrase refers to the fact that despite eating lots of saturated fat and cholesterol (read: cheese, butter, and cream), the French have a relatively low incidence of heart disease. A major reason, researchers suspect, is the generous amount of wine that the French drink.

Although the very existence of the paradox itself is currently under question -- some researchers believe the French under report heart disease -- the evidence in support of wine and other forms of alcohol is not.

Dozens of studies on white wine, red wine, beer, and hard liquor attest to the heart-protective effects of alcohol. (That's right, it's not just wine that's good for you.) In fact, 60 to 80 percent of the population could benefit from moderate drinking, said Harvard researcher Eric Rimm, Ph.D, during a briefing sponsored by the National Beer Wholesalers Association in 2002. In a study of more than 80,000 American women, those who drank moderately had only half the heart attack risk of those who did not drink at all, even if the teetotalers were slim, eschewed tobacco, and exercised daily.

How does alcohol help? To start with, it raises HDL. This is true no matter what type of alcohol you drink. One study found that drinking half a bottle of white wine per day for six weeks increased HDL 7 mg/dl -- a significant jump -- in 12 healthy women and men, all of whom had otherwise normal cholesterol levels. Even significantly less alcohol was found to increase HDL up to 2 mg/dl in other studies. Recent research suggests that the heart-health benefit of alcohol is increased if moderate consumption is also consistent -- three to seven times per week, rather than sporadic.

How much is enough to gain heart protection? In one study of 353 men aged 40 to 60 who had had a heart attack, two or more glasses of wine each day reduced their risk of another heart attack by more than half compared to nondrinkers.

• Cholesterol
• Nutrition
• • Heart Disease

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