According to Gregg Glaser (All About Beer Magazine, Vol 23 No. 3, July 2002), over sixty studies throughout the world have investigated the relationship between drinking and heart health. Although there are some dissenting findings, most of the studies support a connection between moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages (usually defined as less than four ounce equivalents per day) and reduced risk of coronary disease.
Moderate Alcohol Consumption Decreases Risk of Heart Attack
Studies as early as 1982 found that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with decreased risk of heart failure among the elderly. One study, conducted in New Haven, CT by a team from Emory University examined over 2000 subjects at an average 74 years of age. Compared to non-drinkers, those who drank between one and three drinks daily had a 20 to 50 percent less chance of developing heart failure.
More "Good" HDL Cholesterol and Thinner Blood
Subsequent research suggested that moderate alcohol intake improves lipid (fat) balance in the blood and improves thrombolitic (anti-clotting) factors. Alcohol appears to increase the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, often called "good" cholesterol, as well as elevated levels of other various blood-thinning factors that reduce clotting. Reduced HDL and thrombosis are both recognized as lowering heart risk.
Red Wine and Flavonoids
Focus in the 1990s moved to red wine, when chemicals called flavonoids found in the seeds and skins of red grapes appeared to be the cause of both the positive effects on cholesterol levels and reduced clotting. The mechanism was thought to be an amino acid called homocysteine, measured as plasma total homocysteineconcentration (tHcy). High amounts of this acid have been linked to heart attacks; flavonoids were thought to reduce tHcy levels.
White wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages are far lower in flavonoids and were assumed to be less effective for heart health. One French study in 1996 concluded that "Wine consumption may increase tHcy concentrations, whereas beer consumption seems to have no effect (or even an inverse effect) on tHcy." Although other studies disagreed, for a time this established red wine as "the" good-heart beverage.
Folates: Vitamin B6, B9, B12
By 2000, vitamin B6 was being examined as a factor in reducing heart attacks. The vitamin is thought to be the agent preventing buildup of homocysteine (tHcy). A carefully controlled study in Holland directly countered the French conclusion that beer had no effect. The Dutch study showed an 30% increase of vitamin B6 in the blood of subjects who drank four glasses of beer with dinner daily. Take that, French wine sippers.
A report from the Czech Republic, cited in the European Journal of Critical Nutrition, July 2001, further supported the effect of moderate beer consumption on tHcy. The Czech study attributed positive effects on the heart to the brew's high content of folates, a term for a variety of B-complex vitamins. Studies such as this and others argue that it is the B-vitamins, rather than alcohol itself, that affect heart health, and since beer has folates and wine has none, obviously beer is the drink of the heart.
Another Dutch study disagreed. Angelika de Bree et al., in a letter to International Journal of Epidemiology 2001;30:626-627, wrote that "The beneficial effect of beer drinking on tHcy could be due to its folate, riboflavin and vitamin B6 content, all important for the enzymatic homocysteine conversion. Nevertheless, the inverse relation with beer was independent of these nutrients, which might indicate a dose effect of ethanol." In simple English, it's not the vitamins that do the job. It's the alcohol.
Alcohol and Heart Health
It appears that in those countries which produce and drink a lot of wine (France), wine is touted as the beverage of choice for healthy hearts, while in countries where a great deal of beer is produced and consumed (Germany, Czech Republic), beer is the healthy choice. The lay public can rightly be suspicious of studies that are potentially swayed by industry influence.
The last word will go to Prof. Dr. Med. Ulrich Keil, Professor and Chair of the Department of Epedemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Muenster (Germany) in The Journal of Epidemiology, March 1997 - Volume 8 - Issue 2:
"Epidemiologic studies indicate that light to moderate alcohol consumption from beer, wine or spirits is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality, owing primarily to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease...The question whether beer, wine, or spirits differ in their impact on cardiovascular health and all-cause mortality is still open for debate."
So while it is arguable whether a daily dose of Absolute, Tuborg, or Vin Rouge is the best medicine, it is clear that moderate daily alcohol consumption is likely to reduce your chances of a cardiovascular incident. Skoal!
Thomas Alan Gray - Tom has been writing for over 30 years; curiosity leads him to dig into a wide variety of topics.
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