Is Alcohol Good for Your Heart?
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You may have heard that a glass of red wine with dinner has benefits for your heart, but the evidence for that claim isn’t clear-cut. Meanwhile, tons of other science shows alcohol consumption comes with serious health harms — and that the more we drink (in both quantity and frequency), the greater the risks.
Here’s a closer look at everything we know about the effects of alcohol on heart health.
Debunking Claims That Alcohol Is Good for the Heart
In recent years, studies finding an association between moderate alcohol consumption and a lower risk of death from heart disease have made a huge splash on social media and mainstream news alike.
But it’s important to note that these studies were not designed to prove cause and effect, and that means, scientifically speaking, they hold little weight.
“These are not clinical trials,” explains Martha Gulati, MD, the director of preventive cardiology and a physician at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. “These are observational studies. It may be that those who drank wine in these studies were healthier in other ways, such as adhering to a healthier diet.”
Past research has also suggested that moderate amounts of alcohol raise HDL or “good” cholesterol. Moderate drinking is defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men, with a standard drink equivalent to 12 ounces (oz) of beer, 5 oz of wine, or 1.5 oz of distilled spirits or liquor, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Other studies have found that resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, has properties that may offer protective benefits to the heart.
“There is no long-term randomized trial proving that drinking alcohol improves one’s heart health,” says Joanna Troulakis, MD, an attending cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian Queens. “It is likely that the potential benefits of alcohol are relatively small, do not apply to all individuals, and may not outweigh the risks.”
The Health Risks of Alcohol
While the potential benefits of alcohol consumption remain unproven, there’s substantial evidence that it can harm health in a number of ways.
A study published in March 2022 in JAMA Network Open challenges the claim that moderate drinking isn’t risky. The study included more than 370,000 adults in the United Kingdom. The researchers found that heavy drinking (21 or more drinks per week) was associated with the highest increased risk of heart disease. But they also discovered an increased risk with 7 to 14 drinks per week.
The reasons for these risks to heart health are manifold, experts say.
“The empty calories in alcohol can lead to obesity and diabetes mellitus,” says Dr. Troulakis. These are known risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
“Excessive alcohol intake can lead to high blood pressure and an increase in triglycerides, both of which can lead to fatty buildup in arterial walls over time, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke,” Troulakis continues. “It can also cause cardiomyopathy, which is weakening of the heart muscle, thereby leading to heart failure.”
In addition to heart health, there are a number of other health risks associated with alcohol, including cancer, liver disease, pancreatitis, and various neurologic diseases.
In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared in a statement that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe when it comes to human health.” The data behind this warning came from a 2021 study, which estimated that 23,000 new cases of cancers were attributable to light to moderate alcohol consumption in the EU in 2017, accounting for more than 13 percent of all alcohol-attributable cancers.
How Do I Know if I’m Drinking Too Much?
Excessive drinking is typically considered 4 or more drinks per day (or 8 or more per week) in women and 5 or more drinks per day (or 15 or more per week) in men.
“The specific risks for alcohol-related harm not only depend on the total amount, but also how fast and how often one drinks, where drinking too much too fast (binge drinking) can lead to more acute complications like alcohol intoxication and accidents, and drinking too much too often can lead to chronic health conditions like liver disease,” Troulakis says.
And as described above, even light to moderate alcohol consumption does not come without risk.
“My advice is if you don’t drink alcohol, don’t start,” Dr. Gulati says. “If you do drink alcohol, drink as little as possible and definitely no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. If you skip a day or two, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to catch up and have three glasses in one night.”
Where Can I Get Help for Excessive Alcohol Consumption?
If you’re worried you may be drinking too much, a great initial resource is your primary care physician.
“A PCP can complete an SBIRT (screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment) to confirm risky substance use, briefly discuss goals, and connect patients with further resources and support,” Troulakis says.
If it’s determined that you do have a problem, your doctors can help you with treatment and help. Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, is a well-established 12-step program dedicated to abstinence-based recovery that many individuals find success with.
“It is important to keep in mind that alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening and can itself lead to heart problems, including fatal arrhythmias,” Troulakis says. “Therefore, alcohol detoxification in heavy drinkers should not be done abruptly and is best completed under the supervision of medical professionals.”
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