Did you know that a little alcohol might be good for your heart? A study led by scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital found out why this might be true.
They found that a small to moderate amount of alcohol can lower stress signals in the brain.
This effect on the brain’s stress systems could lower the chances of heart problems. These findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, the leading scientist and a heart doctor, clarified that they’re not asking people to drink to avoid heart attacks or strokes.
“We just want to understand how a small to moderate amount of alcohol can lower heart diseases,” he said. The team hopes to find other ways to achieve the same benefits without the harmful effects of alcohol.
Looking into the Facts
Earlier studies had hinted that a small to moderate amount of alcohol, like 1 drink a day for women and 1 or 2 drinks a day for men, could lower the risk of heart disease.
However, it was unclear if the alcohol was causing these benefits or if it was due to other factors, such as healthy behavior or good income.
In the study, over 50,000 people from the Mass General Brigham Biobank took part. The researchers found that those who consumed a small to moderate amount of alcohol had fewer heart problems.
This was true even after considering other factors that could affect their heart health.
What the Brain Tells Us
The scientists looked at brain scans from a smaller group of 754 people.
These scans showed lower stress signals in the amygdala, a part of the brain that responds to stress, in those who drank a small to moderate amount of alcohol.
People who didn’t drink or drank very little showed higher stress signals.
When they looked at the heart problems in these individuals, they found fewer heart attacks and strokes in those who drank a small to moderate amount of alcohol.
“We found that the changes in the brain in these drinkers explained a good part of the benefits for the heart,” said Dr. Tawakol.
Long-Term Effects of Alcohol
Alcohol is known to lower the amygdala’s response to threats while people are drinking.
This study shows that a small to moderate amount of alcohol can have longer-term effects. It can reduce activity in the amygdala, which can impact the heart health positively.
“When the amygdala is always on high alert, it increases heart rate and blood pressure, and releases cells that cause inflammation,” explained Dr. Tawakol.
“If the stress lasts for a long time, this can lead to high blood pressure, inflammation, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.”
The researchers also found that a small to moderate amount of alcohol had almost twice the heart-protective effect in people who were always stressed, like those with a history of significant anxiety.
However, any amount of alcohol increased the risk of cancer. Drinking more than 14 drinks a week increased the risk of heart attack and decreased overall brain activity, which could be bad for brain health.
The scientists concluded that the goal is to find new ways to lower the brain’s stress activity without the harmful effects of alcohol.
They’re now studying how exercise, stress-lowering activities like meditation, and certain medicines might have heart benefits.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease and calcium supplements could harm your heart health.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies that magnets in common popular devices could harm your heart health, and results showing Vitamin K2 could help reduce heart disease risk.
The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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