CBSE Class 10 Answered

If alcohol is not good for our health then why is it recommended that women and men shud drink alchol so that they can reduce the risk of heart attack.researches hav said that alcohol drinkers have a lower risk to get proned to heart attack rather than non drinkers

Asked by piyushtiwari | 29 Aug, 2011, 12:00: AM

Expert Answer

This is question of huge debate.

Dozens of studies have found that moderate or light drinkers have a lower risk of heart disease30 to 50% lowerthan nondrinkers. It is said that alcohol raises blood levels of HDL ("good") cholesterolwhich removes cholesterol from the bloodstreamand thus helps prevent hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Alcohol also reduces the stickiness of platelets in the blood and thus helps prevent the blood clots that cause heart attacks. Alcohol can be helpful, if taken in small doses.

These studies are not completely reliable. There has never been a large-scale, long-term, well-designed clinical trial testing the effect of alcohol. No matter how carefully conducted, nearly all the studies have been observational. That is, they followed groups of drinkers and nondrinkers and compared their health over timea valuable kind of research, but never definitive. Controlled clinical trials have not been carried out.

It is hard to separate alcohol from all the other factors that affect heart disease risk (that is, "control" for those factors) in a study. For instance, moderate drinkers may have healthier habits to begin withand thus be less likely to have heart disease.

But remember that:

Alcohol is intoxicating and potentially addictive.
Even a moderate intake may increase the risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, liver, bladder, pancreas, and colonbesides the concern about breast cancer.
Alcohol harms the fetus and the nursing infant, and is a leading cause of birth defects and mental retardation.

So nobody should start drinking to protect the heart. . ?A?l?s?o? ?t?h?e?r?e? ?i?s? much ???left to learn and alcohol is so risky?.? You can? reduce your risk of heart disease without drinking at all. ?If you dont drink, for whatever reason, dont feel pressured to start. There are better ways to prevent heart disease: following a heart-healthy diet, exercising regularly and vigorously, not smoking, keeping your blood pressure under control, and losing weight if need be?.?