A bit of booze may help protect your heart by reducing stress-related brain activity, a new study suggests.
“The thought is that moderate amounts of alcohol may have effects on the brain that can help you relax, reduce stress levels and, perhaps through these mechanisms, lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Dr. Kenechukwu Mezue, a nuclear cardiology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
His team analyzed data on more than 53,000 people in their late 50s, and more than 750 of them had brain scans to detect stress-related activity.
Overall, 15% of participants had a major heart event such as a stroke or heart attack. That included 17% of those with low self-reported alcohol consumption (one drink a week or fewer) and 13% of moderate drinkers (no more than one drink a day for women and two for men).
Compared to those with low alcohol intake, moderate drinkers had less stress-related brain activity and a 20% lower risk of a major heart event.
Read more at NEWSMAX.
{Matzav.com}
Researchers have said for some time now that moderate consumption of wine is healthy for you. Their conclusion, however, might have been based on other factors other than relaxing the brain, like antioxidants in the wine etc. However, I do recall that there was a recent study that said that wine may not be so good for you. But that’s par for the course, as there are always new studies contradicting the old studies, and than there newer studies contradicting the more recent studies. What are you going to do about it, other than to conclude that nothing is conclusive, including this conclusion that I just made right now. L’CHAIM.
So the Russians were right after all.
Yeh, tell me about it. Burb.
Alcohol is a known vasodilator. It’s occasional consumption, eg, social or at a Shabbos ‘Kiddush’, may promote lowering of arterial blood pressure.