Beer benefits the heart
24 Nov 2011 by Evoluted New Media
With the festive season fast approaching, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s not just red wine that could have protective cardiovascular properties – beer could too.
Approximately a pint of 5% alcohol beer a day can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease say researchers from Fondazione “Giovanni Paolo II”, who conducted a meta-analysis study of over 200,000 people for whom alcohol drinking habits were associated with cardiovascular disease.
The researchers considered beer, wine and spirits. They confirmed what was already known about wine: moderate consumption – two glasses a day for men, one for women – can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
While no protective cardiovascular effects were associated with spirits, researchers did discover – for the first time – dose-dependent evidence for a cardio-protective effect in beer.
“You first observe a reduction in cardiovascular risk with low to moderate drinking. Then, with increasing consumption, you can see that the advantage disappears, until the risk gets higher,” said Simona Costanzo, first author of the paper published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.
“The interesting part of our research is that, among the studies selected for this meta-analysis, there were 12 in which wine and beer consumption could be compared directly. Using these data we were able to observe that the risk curves for the two beverages are closely overlapping.”
But beer-drinkers shouldn’t toast the results too much – the researchers point out that the key is moderate and regular drinking.
“I think we will never stress enough this concept. Wine or beer is part of a lifestyle,” said Augusto Di Castelnuovo. “One glass can pair with healthy foods, eaten at proper times, together with family or friends. There is no place for binge drinking or any other form of heavy consumption.”
Researchers are now interested in whether it is the alcohol in wine and beer that can have a positive effect on cardiovascular health – beer and wine are, after all, different in composition. Both beverages do also contain polyphenols – although different ones – and researchers now intend to look at their contribution more closely.
