A Toast To Good Health, Literally.

Often viewed as one of the most dangerous man-made substances on Earth, alcohol may be making a comeback. “Alcohol has become the sharpest double–edged sword in medicine.” (Zuger, The Case for Drinking.) Many studies have found that alcohol, taken in moderation, has several benefits. Although this news may come as a shock to many, it is by no means recent. The first major study to find heart benefits from alcohol was the Framingham study in 1948. (Zuger, The Case for Drinking.) One of its researchers, Dr. Carl Seltzer, wrote that government sponsors at the National Heart and Lung Institute forbade them to publish their findings in 1972. Why was such important research covered up? Policymakers did not want to be responsible for the backlash that would inevitably accompany any report stating that drinking was “o.k.”

A relatively harmless glass of wine, beer or liquor a day is the best nonprescription way to prevent heart attacks, strokes and dementia. (Aldridge

There is still controversy about whether a specific form of alcohol, wine, beer, or hard liquor, is better for the heart than another. Ethanol, the alcohol found in wine, beer and hard liquor might reduce the tendency for blood platelet cells to aggregate, or clot. The flavonoids quercetin and rutin, naturally occurring compounds in wine contribute to the antioxidant and platelet inhibitory properties of alcohol (Challem, Wine for the Heart). Modest drinking has been shown to raise the blood level of HDL (good) cholesterol and therefore lower and remove LDL (bad) cholesterol from the blood. (Women’s Health Watch, Women and Moderate Drinking) This in turn, reduces the formation of clots in the coronary arteries.

, Benefits of Alcohol Explained) Surprisingly, moderate drinking is the equivalent of one hour of heart healthy exercise a day. Abstaining from drinking is as bad for the heart as obesity. (Zuger, The Case for Drinking). These benefits are hampered by risks that include a 10 percent increased probability of breast cancer in women. Of course moderate drinking (defined as one or two alcoholic beverages a day) can quickly turn into heavy drinking which is associated with many illnesses such as heart failure, a half a dozen forms of cancer, severe dementia, and liver failure. Since the body does not digest alcohol, this job falls to the liver. 95% percent of the alcohol consumed is directly absorbed into the blood stream. The liver will eventually break down the alcohol, however this process can range from

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