Alcohol is not actually heart-healthy; it simply has anti-clotting effects, much like aspirin. Researchers have found that even moderate consumption of alcohol, including wine, interferes with blood clotting and thereby reduces heart attacks in high-risk populations, such as people who eat the typical, disease-promoting American diet. Thinning the blood with alcohol or aspirin is not life-span enhancing unless you are eating the typical heart-attack inducing diet. Once you are protected from heart attacks and strokes with nutritional excellence, the blood thinning only adds to more risk your life, in the form of gastrointestinal bleeding or a hemorrhagic stroke.
Moderate drinking is defined as a maximum of one drink per day for women and two drinks for men. Consuming more than this is associated with increased fat around the waist and other significant health problems. (1) Even a moderate amount of alcohol may also increase the risk of breast cancer in susceptible women.(2)
My other beef with those who drink more than one drink a day is that it can lead to mild withdrawal sensations the next day that are commonly mistaken for hunger, which leads people to eat more than is genuinely necessary, resulting in weight gain. Moderate drinkers are usually overweight. Furthermore, recent studies have also shown that even moderate alcohol consumption is linked to significantly increased incidence of atrial fibrillation, a condition that can lead to stroke.(3)
Overall, it is safer to eat a diet that will not permit heart disease and not rely on alcohol to decrease the potential of blood to clot. The bottom line is that drinking alcohol and wine is only an advantage to those who consume an unhealthy diet. Alcohol’s anti-clotting properties have only been shown to grant some protective effect against heart attacks for people eating a diet demonstrated to promote heart disease. There are no protective effects in low risk individuals consuming healthful, plant based diets with resultant low cholesterol levels. It is wiser to avoid the detrimental effects of alcohol completely and protect yourself from heart disease with nutritional excellence.
Red wine also contains some beneficial compounds such as flavonoids and reservatrol, a potent anti-oxidant in the skin of grapes associated with a number of health benefits. Of course, grapes, raisins, berries and other plant foods also contain these beneficial compounds. One does not have to drink wine to gain these benefits.
And lastly, the sensible reason the American Heart Association does not recommend people drink wine or other alcoholic beverages is stated below:
Drinking more alcohol increases such dangers as alcoholism, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, breast cancer, suicide and accidents. Also, it's not possible to predict in which people alcoholism will become a problem. Given these and other risks, the American Heart Association cautions people NOT to start drinking ... if they do not already drink alcohol. Consult your doctor on the benefits and risks of consuming alcohol in moderation.
I agree, drinking alcohol or one cup of wine is not a major risk, nor is it a major health asset, but if consumed in excess; it can develop into a major health risk. The small benefit offered against heart attacks cannot take the place of a healthy diet and exercise as the cornerstone of a heart healthy lifestyle and drinking wine is certainly not necessary for heart disease protection.
1. Dallongeville, J., N. Marecaux, P Ducmetiere, et al. 1998. Influence of alcohol consumption and various beverages on waist girth and waist-to-hip ratio on a sample of French men and women. J Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 22 (12): 1178-83.
2. Dumitrescu RG ; Shields PG. The etiology of alcohol-induced breast cancer. Alcohol. 2005; 35(3):213-25.
3. Frost L ; Vestergaard P. Alcohol and risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter: a cohort study.Arch Intern Med. 2004; 164(18):1993-8. Mukamal KJ ; Tolstrup JS ; Friberg J; et al. Alcohol consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation in men and women: the Copenhagen City Heart Study. Circulation. 2005; 112(12):1736-42.
