Alcohol in moderation has been known to be acceptable; however a new study now states that that one glass of red wine is not as good for the heart as initially suspected.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, states that alcohol is the fifth leading risk of disability and death. Four percent of deaths are attributed to problems with alcohol. The researchers have now found that even those who have a light to moderate alcohol consumption could be putting their hearts at risk.
The 155 researchers - from the UK, continental Europe, North America, and Australia - pooled and analyzed data about links between drinking habits and heart health from 56 epidemiological studies covering more than 260,000 people of European descent.
"In our study, we saw a link between a reduced consumption of alcohol and improved cardiovascular health, regardless of whether the individual was a light, moderate or heavy drinker," Juan Casas, senior author of the study, told CBS News.
Researchers found that individuals who carry a specific gene -- variant of the "alcohol dehydrogenase 1B" -- a gene which typically leads to lower alcohol consumption over time have, on average, superior cardiovascular health records, CBS reported.
"These new results are critically important to our understanding of how alcohol affects heart disease," Michael Holmes, co-lead author of the study, said in a statement. "For some time, observational studies have suggested that only heavy drinking was detrimental to cardiovascular health, and that light consumption may actually be beneficial. This has led some people to drink moderately based on the belief that it would lower their risk of heart disease."
The findings were recently published in The BMJ.
