Alcohol Good for the Heart? Not Really!

• First-ever study in India dispels alcohol myths
• No evidence to suggest alcohol is good for the Indian heart
• Avoid sudden and excess drinking
• Drinks need to be taken with full meals

New Delhi, December 27


Who says moderate drinking of alcohol helps the heart? The first ever study conducted in India, not yet published, now claims that there is no evidence to suggest the firmly held popular belief that a drink or two protects the heart.
Dr KS Reddy, the Prime Minister’s personal physician who now heads the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), told The Tribune that earlier studies in the West claimed that moderate intake of alcohol protected the heart by enhancing insulin sensitivity and elevating high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which helps cardiovascular health.


But the claim has failed the Indian test, with the first-ever study on the subject in India showing that alcohol, irrespective of the quantity in which it is consumed, is always harmful and never protective at all. In fact, Indians drinking alcohol have been found to be at two to three fold higher risk of heart disease than non-drinkers.


Led by Dr Reddy, who recently oversaw Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s heart bypass surgery at AIIMS, the study was conducted on employees engaged in 10 major industries across India and their family members.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/health-and-nutrition/28686-alcohol-good-for-heart-not-really.html


“We have now shown in the Indian context that alcohol does not exhibit gains to cardiovascular health. Indians who drink face three fold higher risk of heart disease. The belief that moderate drinking helps the heart is not true for Indians,” Dr Reddy told The Tribune while pointing out that doubts are being voiced in the West too about the alleged protective properties of alcohol.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=28686


In 2007, the American Diabetic Association had claimed, “In individuals with diabetes, light to moderate alcohol intake (1 or 2 drinks per day; 15 to 30 ml alcohol) is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease…”


But Dr Reddy’s study, initiated when he was still at AIIMS, looked at people in India with evidence of heart disease. “We found that people with heart disease were more likely to be drinking in the past,” said Dr Reddy, who looked at population from industries ranging from machine tools in Pune and cycles in Ludhiana to the tea estates in Assam.


“Many etymological studies in the West have shown that alcohol is good for the heart. This has something to do with the high fat intake in the food of westerners. While fat is known to increase the tendency towards blood clotting, alcohol is known to reduce the same. But we wanted to study a population where fat intake is not very high, like in India. We concluded that alcohol intake among Indians tended to fuel more electrical excitability of the heart which in turn led to fatal events like heart attacks besides de-stablilising diabetes control,” Dr Reddy said.


Indians also have a tendency to drink at festivals and over weekends. Warning that the ‘Holiday Heart Syndrome’ was extremely pronounced in India, Dr Reddy added, “Sudden and excess drinking must be avoided. Whenever people drink, they should take care to drink with full meal to delay the absorption of alcohol.”


The trend was confirmed by Dr Balbir Singh, chairman, cardiology, Medicity: “We are seeing more patients these days. It may have a relation to binge drinking over festivals. We can, however, say that the incidence of heart attacks is 20 per cent higher in winter.”

 
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SSA,
Surely alcohal can not be good for health, wealth or family life. Researchs are saying it now but gurbani has stated it since begining. Let the scientist and researches do there researches ultimatly they are going to reach to the conclusions which gurbani has already concluded.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=28686
Roopsidhu

When there is the stone problem then doctor prescribe the alcohol based medication. To take the alcohol in limits is helpful in all way. I take it for the health not for the enjoyment.

I honestly don't believe that alcohol or other intoxicants can be good for your health at all.

There are plenty more credible studies which suggest that alcohol in moderation IS good for you, such as red wine, which relaxes the blood vessels allowing the heart to work less hard pumping blood.

Actually no! Those studies have been discredited as the experimental methods used were found to be flawed. It is often bad science but as it makes good headlines, such stories are popular in the media (as is a lot of bad science!). People are always desperate for a positive to alcohol....sorry to disappoint. Maybe stick to ice cream

Dear Findingmyway Ji

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=28686
Could not the excessive consumption of icecream also not lead to diabetes and please could you provide evidence of the flawed methods you describe or should we take your word for it?

Never take anyone else's word for it!! I'm glad you ask.

Firstly you are very right about ice cream. That comment was referencing a conversation about chardi kala ice cream that was taking place at the time so it was a bit tongue in cheek!! You should eat and drink to retain a chardi kala ice cream frame of mind
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=28686

The best way to analyze the studies is to look at the data yourself. If you have an athens account you can download the scientific papers about the original studies from pubmed. Look carefully at the methodology and analysis. Statistics can often be manipulated to show effects that aren't really there.

Working in clinical research and being involved in writing reports taught me not to trust anything I read! If you look at the conclusions they do not always relate to the numbers seen very well. They also always say there MAY be an effect as it is so small. Did they use statistically significant effect or clinically significaint effect? They are 2 different things. The 1st is mathematical and arbitrary but the 2nd is what we look for as clinicians.

Look at the methodology and recruitment carefully. Is what they are measuring really representative of a protective effect? Or is it too much of an indirect effect (often the case). Have the most appropriate patients been enrolled to reduce confounding factors? The studies often don't account for confounding factors (things that make the analysis meaningless as the effect can be due to something else that has not been accounted for). How has consumption level been measured? Is it lifelong or recent? A lot of the studies used recovered alcoholics in the teetotaller group which will affect the health of this group and make the conclusions invalid. Were enough patients recruited to see an effect?

A number of other flaws but I fear I'm not explaining this very well! Here are some links written in plain language by researchers which explain things better than me-
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=28686
http://addictions.about.com/od/subst...healthmyth.htm

http://health.drgily.com/alcohol-effects-heart.php
Even wikipedia has a section about how the effect reported may or may not be there! I have also read a report about how the research is biased as the researchers were all drinkers and keen for positive results. However, I cannot find that source at the moment. Sorry!

Hope this makes sense

Dear Sister

Thankyou I will try to read up on it ,but as my name suggests, I have plenty of other cardinal sins to absolve .

I never drink for the protective effect ,it's just something I do occasionally,mainly to fuel my dancing at parties!

Alcohol is used in many medicines eg Nigh Nurse. So as a Sikh am I commiting a sin when drinking it? It certainly impairs my senses and sends me to sleep.