One glass of wine a day can HALF your risk of a heart attack
It’s encouraging news for wine lovers: Drinking a glass a day could be more effective than statins in lowering the risk of heart attacks.
A study has shown that those who drink moderate amounts as part of a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk by half.
Although previous studies have suggested that wine might have a protective effect on the heart, many rely on self-reporting.
But the latest is the first to accurately measure consumption based on urine samples, which were provided by the 1,232 participants at the start of the study and again a year later. After four or five years of follow-up, there were 685 cases of heart disease, including heart attacks, strokes or death from cardiovascular disease.
Researchers from the University of Barcelona found that those who drank 12 to 35 glasses of wine per month had a 50 percent lower risk than those who drank no more than one, the study reported in the European Heart Journal. Statins reduce the risk by about 30 percent.
The heart health benefits decreased for those who drank more.
However, the findings come after the World Health Federation (WHF) said in 2022 that wine contained antioxidants, which have health benefits, but that studies suggesting the drink may be good for us are ‘observational’.
For example, the fact that moderate drinkers look healthier than non-drinkers may be due to the fact that the latter have had an alcohol problem.
It’s encouraging news for wine lovers: Drinking a glass a day could be more effective than statins in lowering the risk of heart attacks
Researchers from the University of Barcelona found that those who drank 12 to 35 glasses of wine per month had a 50 percent lower risk than those who drank no more than one glass of wine.
Statins reduce the risk by about 30 percent, while the study suggests that those who drink moderate amounts of wine as part of a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk by half.
Monika Arora, of the WHF, had said: ‘The image of alcohol as necessary for a vibrant social life has diverted attention from the harms of alcohol consumption, as have the frequent claims that moderate drinking, such as a glass of red wine a day, can protect against cardiovascular disease.
“These claims are at best ill-informed and at worst an attempt by the alcohol industry to mislead the public about the danger of their product.”
Matt Lambert, from drinks industry trade body Portman Group, said: ‘It is important not to overstate the risk of moderate alcohol consumption and not to cause undue concern for responsible consumers who are enjoying alcohol sensibly.’
Some of those who enjoy the occasional drink have pushed back against warnings about the ‘nanny state’, such as those from former Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies, who told the Commons Science and Technology Committee in 2016 that women ‘have to do as I do’ and think about the risks of breast cancer every time they reach for a glass of wine.
Later that year, she admitted that she had chosen her words poorly.