Thursday, February 24, 2011

A drink a day is good for the heart: Lancet


LONDON: Here's a perfect excuse to go out for a drink tonight — a tipple a day keeps the doctor at bay, say researchers. A new study, published in 'The Lancet' journal, has found that people who down a drink or two daily are not only healthier, they also possess a lower risk of developing heart disease than those who abstain from alcohol.

In fact, for some people this risk could be reduced by as much as a quarter, the study says, boosting that far from damaging health, modest drinking will improve it. The study also revealed that low alcohol intake can actually improve blood cholesterol levels and reduce other important compounds in blood linked to inflammation; it is this process that may help protect heart and blood vessels from clogging up, the 'Daily Express' reported.

The study is actually a review of 84 researches into alcohol and deaths from heart disease. In the study, the researchers at the Calgary Institute for Population and Public Health in Canada showed that a drink a day reduced the risk of heart disease by between 14 and 25%. It also reduced the risk of dying from heart disease by a quarter and of having a stroke by 2%.


Read more: A drink a day is good for the heart: Lancet - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/A-drink-a-day-is-good-for-the-heart-Lancet/articleshow/7560002.cms#ixzz1EqY6Pio7

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