BBC: Alcohol 'protects men's hearts' - Democratic Underground

steven johnson

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Thu Nov-19-09 11:17 AM
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BBC: Alcohol 'protects men's hearts'

Spanish research involving more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women found alcohol consumption to more beneficial for men than for women when measuring the risk of coronary artery disease. Drinking less than a shot of vodka a day reduced risk was reduced by 35% while for those who drank anything from three shots to more than 11 shots each day, the risk worked out an average of 50% less. This beneficial effect is thought to be mediated by 'good cholesterol' or high density lipoproteins.

For those drinking little - less than a shot of vodka a day for instance - the risk was reduced by 35%. And for those who drank anything from three shots to more than 11 shots each day, the risk worked out an average of 50% less.

The same benefits were not seen in women, who suffer fewer heart problems than men to start with. Researchers speculated this difference could be down to the fact that women process alcohol differently, and that female hormones protect against the disease in younger age groups.

The Stroke Association meanwhile noted that overall, evidence indicated that people who regularly consumed a large amount of alcohol had a three-fold increased risk of stroke.

In the UK, the recommendation is no more than two to three units of alcohol a day for women - the equivalent of one standard glass of wine - and three to four units for men.

Alcohol 'protects men's hearts'

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imdjh

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Thu Nov-19-09 11:27 AM
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1. Fascinating. Surely all the other factors which come to mind are addressed somewhere other than this

.... article.

There is a certain ridiculous factor to this. Very few people who drink, drink one or less shots per day unless you mean the guy who has two beers on Friday, two on Saturday, and a bloody mary on Sunday averaged over a week. Of those people who drink 3-11 shots per day, I would think that they would also be very likely to be sedentary and smokers.

However, there are indeed some celebrated alcoholics who have lived to be very old, or at least look very old.

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MindPilot

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Thu Nov-19-09 11:32 AM
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2. Save a heart; kill a liver...

As--I think it was WC Fields--said, "I'd rather be a good liver than have one."

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Kokonoe

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Thu Nov-19-09 11:51 AM
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3. I am sorry for my previous posts

But I have been proven correct.

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reggie the dog

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Thu Nov-19-09 04:29 PM
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4. I guess my non alcohol consumption is gonna get me

Is ganga good for my heart? It sure is a good stress reliever.

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Techn0Girl

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Thu Nov-19-09 06:35 PM
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5. Is anyone else just a bit "suspicious" of the various studies....

that inevitably come out once a year claiming that a certain degree of alcohol is good for you? Does anyone else wonder if these "studies" aren't funded by distillers or wine makers.

I used to work for Gallo and I can tell you without a doubt that funding such publicity "studies" would be the very LEAST of the things they were willing to do to increase sales.

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CTyankee

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Fri Nov-20-09 05:59 PM
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6. Interesting. I do note that when I go to Europe (granted, I recently have only been to Italy, Spain

and Portugal), I see both sexes drinking wine and other alcohol at all hours of the day and night in their little "bars." I really don't know their rate of heart disease, but it seems to me that they're not going to give up their wine habit (if we can call it that...maybe it is just their culture).

We have to take a long view here. In the U.S. we have this "all or nothing" mentality that suggests that either you are a teetotaler or a drunk and that is not really the case...

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