Four Factors That Make Moderate Drinking of Alcoholic Beverages Beneficial to Heart Health

When it comes to drinking alcoholic beverages and how it can possibly prevent heart disease, what matter most are how often one drinks and how much of the beverage is consumed by that person whenever he or she drinks. Drinking in moderation, therefore, remains as the key to maximizing the beneficial effects of alcoholic beverages insofar as aiding heart health is concerned.

Of course encouraging people to drink alcoholic beverages in moderation often does not work, as some apparently cannot or are unable to do so. But if one really heeds the medical and health advice on moderate drinking, he or she will appreciate the fact that it can actually cut one's risk of heart disease; four factors make this possible.

First, alcohol significantly boosts blood levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol, which moves plaque - brought forth by low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol, and which builds up on the artery walls - to the liver to be broken down. Thus, having more HDL on the blood means a lower risk of heart disease. Having a couple of drinks of an alcoholic beverage greatly helps in this regard.

Second, alcohol prevents the formation of blood clots, which - by blocking arteries that are already narrowed by heart disease - are the causes of most cases of heart attacks; it also helps the body in breaking up blood clots soon after they form. The formation of blood clots is greatly reduced within a matter of hours from drinking an alcoholic beverage. This, in turn, greatly decreases the short-term risk of a heart attack.

Third, alcohol may be helpful in controlling the formation of arterial muscle cells, which contribute to the narrowing of the coronary arteries (known as atherosclerosis in the medical field). This condition often occurs after having a meal that is considerably fatty.

Fourth and last, certain alcoholic beverages, especially red wine, contain antioxidants (examples are flavonoids), which neutralize free radicals (highly reactive oxygen molecules with an unpaired electron) that react with LDL cholesterol and contribute to heart disease.

Moderate drinking of alcoholic beverages is qualified here as having no more than a couple of drinks a day, one drink being equal to a consumption of half an ounce (15 milliliters) of alcohol. In more specific examples, daily moderate drinking means having no more than a 5-ounce (150-milliliter) glass of wine or two 12-ounce (355 milliliters) bottles of beer. Consuming more than what are indicated here can increase one's risk of having heart disease that moderate drinking can otherwise reduce.