February 22/Calgary, Alberta/Future News - Media Planner -- The British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports individuals who drink alcohol in moderation (about one drink a day or less) are 14-25% less likely to develop heart disease compared to those who drink no alcohol at all. University of Calgary's Dr. Susan Brien says moderate alcohol consumption of up to 15g per day for women and 30g for men is good for health.

The author noted, "Two reviewers independently selected studies that examined adults without known cardiovascular disease and that compared fasting levels of specific biological markers associated with coronary heart disease after alcohol use with those after a period of no alcohol use (controls). Some, 4,690 articles were screened for eligibility, the full texts of 124 studies reviewed, and 63 relevant articles selected.

"Of 63 eligible studies, 44 on 13 biomarkers were meta-analyzed in fixed or random effects models. Quality was assessed by sensitivity analysis of studies grouped by design. Analyses were stratified by type of beverage (wine, beer, spirits). Alcohol significantly increased levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (pooled mean difference 0.094 mmol/L, 95% confidence interval 0.064 to 0.123), apolipoprotein A1 (0.101 g/L, 0.073 to 0.129), and adiponectin (0.56 mg/L, 0.39 to 0.72). Alcohol showed a dose-response relation with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (test for trend P=0.013). Alcohol decreased fibrinogen levels (-0.20 g/L, -0.29 to -0.11) but did not affect triglyceride levels. Results were similar for crossover and before and after studies, and across beverage types."

Brien concluded, "Favorable changes in several cardiovascular biomarkers (higher levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and adiponectin and lower levels of fibrinogen) provide indirect pathophysiological support for a protective effect of moderate alcohol use on coronary heart disease."

From the February 23, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News
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