Keyword Search:

AAB Departments
  ...Beer Features
  ...Beer Talk
  ...Pull Up A Stool!
  ...What's Brewing
  ...Beer Travelers
  ...Stylistically Speaking
  ...Beer & Food
  ...Homebrewing
  ...Collectibles
  ...Marketplace
Beer Lovers' Resources
  ...World Beer Festival
  ...Brew Cruise Info
  ...AAB Merchandise
  ...AAB Bookstore
  ...Beer Links
About the Magazine
  ...Subscription Info
  ...Retail the Magazine
  ...Advertising Info
  ...Contact AAB

WHAT'S BREWING

Hops in the fountain of youth?

The most complete study ever of alcohol's effects on health found that a drink a day in middle age reduces the risk of death by 20 percent. The research conducted by the American Cancer Society attempts to add up the pluses and minuses of drinking and the overall effect of alcohol on health.

Like previous studies, this one found that modest drinking is, on balance, healthful. The ill effects, including cancer, are greatly offset by alcohol's benefits to the heart. "The best advice to the public is, nothing in excess," said Dr. Michael J. Thun, the study's lead author.

Among the results released in December:

  • Men and woman who averaged one drink a day had a 21 percent lower risk of death than did nondrinkers.
  • The benefits decreased as people drank more. Among those who averaged four to five drinks a day, the risk of death among men was 10 percent lower, while among women it was 7 percent lower.
  • Women who consumed at least one drink a day had a 30 percent higher risk of dying from breast cancer than did nondrinkers. Drinkers also faced a higher risk of dying from cirrhosis, alcoholism and cancer of the mouth, throat and liver.
  • Overall, drinkers had about a 30 percent to 40 percent lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease than did teetotalers.

Alcohol appears to protect the heart by raising levels of HDL, the good variety of cholesterol, and it may have other beneficial effects on the circulatory system as well.

RETURN TO NEWS INDEX

© 1998 Chautauqua Inc.


© 1996-2007 Chautauqua Inc.