People who drink up to almost
2.5 bottles of wine a week have a lower risk of premature
death than those who abstain from alcohol, a study conducted
by European Heart Journal research has suggested.
Moderate drinkers are less likely than
teetotalers or heavy drinkers to die of heart disease and
other causes. The protective effect is magnified if they
also take plenty of exercise, scientists have found.
A weekly consumption of up to 14 drinks,
classified as a glass of wine, a bottle of beer or a single
measure of spirits, offers the greatest health benefits,
the 20-year study of almost 12,000 Danish men and women
has concluded, as a part of the Copenhagen City Heart Study.
The healthiest were those who were moderate
drinkers and moderately or very physically active. Their
risk of dying from heart disease was about half that of
inactive nondrinkers.
Martin Grønbaek, of the University
of Southern Denmark in Copenhagen, who led the research,
said: "Our study shows that being both physically active
and drinking a moderate amount of alcohol is important for
lowering the risk of both fatal ischemic heart disease (IHD)
and death from all causes. For both men and women, being
physically active was associated with a significantly lower
risk for both fatal IHD and all-cause mortality than being
physically inactive, and drinking alcohol was associated
with a lower risk of fatal IHD than abstaining.
"A weekly moderate alcohol intake
reduced the risk of all-cause mortality among both men and
women, whereas the risk among heavy drinkers was similar
to nondrinkers."
In the study, published in the European
Heart Journal, a team led by Professor Grønbaek,
Berit Heitmann and Jane Østergaard Pedersen, analysed
data collected by the Copenhagen City Heart Study, a long-running
research cohort assembled in the 1970s to investigate cardiovascular
health.
Ms Østergaard Pedersen said: "The
lowest risk of death from all causes was observed among
the physically active moderate drinkers and the highest
risk among the physically inactive non and heavy drinkers."
Moderate drinking and exercise reduce blood pressure, which
has significant health benefits
DelWine would like to warn its readers
to drink within these reasonable limits, as excess alcohol
can have negative impact on liver, blood pressure etc- Editor
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