Is Raising a Glass of Wine Good for your Heart?

Does a glass of wine a day good for the heart? Here’s what you should know before you raise a glass to your health.

People respond differently to alcohol for other reasons besides height and weight. This includes gender, age, genetics, and overall health. When alcohol is taken into the body, it passes from the stomach and small intestine into the blood. Then it’s carried to all organs of the body.

Your liver does most of the work of breaking down alcohol. But the liver can break down only a certain amount of alcohol per hour, regardless of the amount you drink. A very small percentage of alcohol escapes this process and is eliminated through breath, sweat, and urine. Until all the alcohol in the body has been broken down, it stays in the brain and other tissues of the body and continues to cause effects.

There is some evidence that intake of moderate amounts of alcohol might help to slightly raise levels of good HDL cholesterol. Researchers have also suggested that red wine might protect the heart, because of its antioxidant content.

Moderation is different for men, women, and older adults. This is because alcohol’s effects on the individual depend on how the body absorbs and breaks down alcohol. However, even low-level drinking increases the risks of other very serious illnesses including other types of heart disease, several types of cancer, brain damage, pancreatitis, and alcohol-related liver disease. The safest level of drinking is to drink no alcohol at all.

Drinking red wine, and other types of alcoholic beverages is not an option to prevent or treat cardiovascular disease. Consumption of a healthier diet and being physically active would still be more effective in reducing death from heart disease than drinking a low dose of alcohol. (ND II Niña Estela Lindsay Romero, RND)