Drinking alcohol in moderate doses is surprisingly good for cholesterol levels - study

Researchers from Harvard University have noticed a decrease in "bad" cholesterol levels among drinkers.

UNN reports with reference to ArsTechnica.

Limiting alcohol consumption is important given that various health problems, such as accidental injuries, liver disease, high blood pressure, are associated with excessive consumption of beverages. But the findings in a new study by Harvard University scientists indicate that not everything is so bad. In cases of moderate consumption, there is a benefit in that "bad" cholesterol is reduced.

The researchers conducted an experiment involving nearly 58,000 adult residents of Japan, using a database of medical records obtained during routine examinations. It was found that when people switched from non-drinkers to drinkers during the study, they had lower levels of "bad" cholesterol - low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL.

"Good" cholesterol, i.e. high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or HDL, according to the study, increased when the experiment participants consumed alcohol

Interestingly, HDL levels increased so much that they actually surpassed the improvements usually seen with medication, the researchers note.

In people who went from zero drinks to 1.5 drinks per day or less, bad LDL cholesterol levels decreased by 0.85 mg/dL, and good HDL cholesterol levels increased by 0.58 mg/dL, compared to non-drinking people who never started drinking. In those who started drinking from zero to 1.5-3 drinks per day, bad LDL levels decreased by 4.4 mg/dL, and good HDL levels increased by 2.49 mg/dL. In people who started drinking three or more drinks per day, LDL levels decreased by 7.44 mg/dL, and HDL levels increased by 6.12 mg/dL.

For reference:

• The optimal LDL cholesterol level for adults is less than 100 mg/dL;
• the optimal HDL cholesterol level is 60 mg/dL or higher.

Important:

Higher levels of LDL may increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and other health problems.

Higher HDL levels have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease. Although some of the changes reported in the study were small, the researchers note that in some cases they may be significant.

For example, a 5 mg/dl increase in LDL is enough to increase the risk of a cardiovascular event by 2-3 per cent.

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The researchers ran three different models to adjust for a variety of factors, including baseline factors such as age, gender, body mass index, as well as diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, and lifestyle factors such as exercise, eating habits, and smoking. All models showed the same associations.

We also divided the data by the type of alcoholic beverages people consumed - wine, beer, sake, and other alcoholic beverages. The results were the same in all categories.

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