Join and Start Saving Today

DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH
Return to Beauty Articles

These days, we're so inundated with horror stories alcohol-related diseases, that you almost feel guilty having that highball before dinner. But a growing body of research indicates that moderate drinking is good for you. For example, in a two year study, men who had up to two drinks a day had 26% fewer heart attacks than those who didn't drink. The French are another group who routinely eat artery-clogging cheeses and butter, but who are only one-quarter as likely to die from heart disease as Americans. Experts suggest their regular imbibing of red wine is the difference.

Much of the research thus far has focused on the benefits of drinking wine, red in particular. Seems that red wine has higher levels antioxidants and ingredients which clean the arteries of fatty deposits. In reality, though, any type of alcoholic beverage raises the "good cholesterol" levels in the bloodstream and helps reduce clotting (which can lead to heart attack and stroke). Drinking with a meal also slows the absorption of food, which may help ward off adult onset diabetes by keeping a lid on the amount of sugar released into the bloodstream.

But as anyone who's quaffed the champagne a little too freely on New Year's Eve can tell you, too much alcohol makes you feel anything but healthy the next day. Like everything in life, moderation is the key. To enjoy the health benefits of alcohol, men should drink no more than 2 drinks a day. For women, who have a lower tolerance, it's one drink. After that, the benefits taper off (and the hangover potential builds up).

And unlike pennies, saving your drink "allowance" up for the weekend is counterproductive. The anti-clotting benefits of alcohol only last one or two days, so spread them out.

Of course, if you don't drink, don't feel that you must do so to be healthy. Red grape juice has been shown to possess some of the same benefits of red wine. So (clink!), here's to your health! 

Return to Beauty Articles

Source: American Health, Jan/Feb. 1996

Please Note:  Some of the information presented in this section may not be original, and it may have appeared in periodicals or from other sources. In such cases credit is given to the source.