Trade in your water bottle for a glass of vino!

February 6th, 2008

If your doctor were to tell you that you need to increase heart healthy habits, would you reach for the grapes on the counter or the bottle of red wine?  Turns out, drinking a few drinks per week (up to one a day for women, up to two for men) has the same potential heart benefits as exercise.  You have probably heard this claim before, a glass of wine a day prevents heart disease, sort of the apple a day mentality, but researchers wanted to look further into these benefits.

Alcohol and exercise affect your heart health in similar ways, “they help increase good cholesterold, or HDL, and clean the circulatory system’s pipes.  HDL helps remove fatty deposits, created by bad cholesterol, or LDL, from bloodvessel walls.  The higher the HDL, the less likely vascular disease becomes.  The lower the HDL, the more likely”, says Dr. Arthur Klatsky, cardiologist and researcher at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

In the study, 12,000 people were observed over a 20 year period and split into four categories.  They found that exercise and drinking alcohol had an independent beneficial effect on the heart and a compounded effect when practiced together.  People who don’t drink at all and don’t exercise had the highest risk of heart disease.  Those who drink moderately and exercise had a 50% lower risk.  Those who only exercise or only drink alcohol had a 30% lower risk. 

Even though these findings show the benefits of alcohol with exercise, wait before you make a mad dash to the bar.  These findings have only been shown to benefit those who are at an age at which heart disease becomes a larger risk, around ages 45 to 50.  There is no proof of a preventative measure before age 45.  Also, remember moderation is key!  Remember you should never drink your weekly allowance all at once.

Source: TIME Magazine

Entry Filed under: Healthy Lifestyle Research, Weight Loss, Fitness and Health