Moderate wine consumption related to better cardiovascular health
In this American community-based study, multi-ethnic adults (without cardiovascular disease at the study start) who consumed 1-2 drinks of wine/day had a better cardiovascular health compared to those who never drank wine.
The current study examined the relation between the type of alcoholic beverage and the ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) which is defined by the American Heart Association when meeting specific criteria: data about smoking, physical activity, body mass index, diet, total cholesterol blood pressure and blood sugar. However, so far, the effects of the type of alcoholic beverage on CVH is not known. Therefore, this Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) investigated whether one alcoholic beverage is more strongly related to one or the other CVH factors. The results showed that light to moderate consumption (**) of wine was associated with favorable cardiovascular health. In contrast, heavy consumption of beer and liquor was related to a poorer cardiovascular health.
Source:
Ogunmoroti, O. et al, 2020, Alcohol type and ideal cardiovascular health among adults of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108358
(**) Alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, liquor) were categorized into:
- Never
- Former
- Very light: >0 but < 1 drink/day
- Light to moderate: 1-2 drinks/day
- Heavy: > 2 drinks/day