Reduced Risk Of Heart Attack In Healthy Men Who Drink Moderately

Even healthy men may benefit from a drink or two daily to help lower the risk of heart attack, medical researchers reported on Monday. "Our results suggest that moderate drinking could be viewed as a complement, rather than an alternative, to lifestyle interventions such as regular physical activity, weight loss and giving up smoking," said the study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston. The apparent protective effect may be that alcohol appears to raise the level of so-called "good" cholesterol in the bloodstream. Between 1986 and 2002, 106 of the study sample of 1282 drinkers had heart attacks, including eight who downed two drinks daily, compared to 28 of a sample of 1889 men who did not drink at all.