Health benefits with moderate alcohol consumption.

Apart from helping you keep warm during cold conditions and help to overcome shyness in social gathering, there are also a handful of benefits that comes with moderate alcohol consumption.

Now before you rush to the next bar and start drinking your life away and hoping to live longer, remember and have it imprinted on your mind that moderation is the key to alcohol’s benefits. . That means one drink a day on average for women and two drinks a day for men. Beyond that, you are on your own. Remember MODERATION.

Good for Your Heart

 Red wine has long been considered the elixir of heart health. Moderate intake of any alcoholic beverages can cut your risk of heart disease by up to 40 percent, according to a review of more than 100 prospective studies from the Harvard School of Public Health. Drinking 12 grams of alcohol or less than one standard drink per day is associated with a decrease in the risk of stroke

Much of alcohol’s benefit to heart health has to do with its ability to raise good (HDL) cholesterol, lower bad (LDL) cholesterol, and reduce blood problems that can lead to clogged arteries (and the heart attacks they cause).

Reduce Fat

 When regularly consumed in moderation, alcohol can actually help fight fat. A 2010 study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine found that women who had one or two drinks a day were less likely to gain weight than those who shunned the sauce.

Researchers believe that the bodies of long-term moderate drinkers somehow adapt to metabolize alcohol differently than those who concentrate their cocktails into the occasional big night out. Plus, women who drink moderate amounts of alcohol tend to eat less food, particularly carbohydrates, according to Lu Wang, lead researcher on the study and an instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Alcoholic beverages and wine especially, are credited with increasing “good,” HDL cholesterol levels. HDL helps clean the body by removing LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol

Reduce Risk of Diabetes

 A 2005 report published in Diabetes Care found that moderate amounts of alcohol—up to a drink a day for women, up to two drinks a day for men—reduces risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 30 percent.

Alcohol increases levels of a hormone that improves insulin sensitivity. In other words, it makes it easier for your body to process glucose and use it as energy. This helps reduce the amount of sugar in the bloodstream and ultimately reduces risk for developing diabetes.

Got a smile on your face already?

Boost Brainpower

 Remember that guy that says alcohol helps him improve him understand better when he reads and you thought he just needed an excuse to drink? Well you were wrong.

One study found that people who drank and ate during a problem solving test performed better than their sober counterparts. The study was necessarily limited, and alcohol can certainly have detrimental effects on brain functions when consumed in excess.

Researchers from Loyola University found that moderate drinkers were 23 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia compared to non-drinkers.

Researchers hypothesize that since moderate drinking raises good cholesterol, it can improve blood flow to the brain. Alcohol could also “toughen” brain cells by stressing them a little, preparing them to cope with major stresses later in life that could cause dementia. Also, ethanol helps the neurons in the brain resist wear and tear that can lead to Alzheimer’s and dementia later in life

Fight Malaria!

 Did someone mention Alomo? Considering that malaria is a going concern for the Nigerians, the tonic (in gin and tonics) has historically been used to treat malarial infections. Tonic contains quinine, an alkaloid that also has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Much more effective solutions have been developed, but quinine (and tonic water) can still help in a pinch before proper medication can be administered.

What constitutes one drink?

 What doctors usually consider a drink is basically a medium glass of wine, a 1.5 oz shot of spirits, or a can or bottle of beer. All of those have roughly similar amounts of pure alcohol in them.

On a Final Note

 Consumed in moderation, alcohol can have positive effects on cholesterol and blood sugar. But those rewards are quickly reversed if you overindulge.

And this article is not supposed to make you start drinking alcohol, if you do not drink alcohol, do not start. We also do not recommend that pregnant women and people below the age of 18 should consume alcohol.

Source : Naijamayor