Beer, At Least Some Beer, May Lower Heart Risk

Some beer drinking, twice a week beer drinking to be precise, appears to lower the risk of heart attack by 30 percent, when compared to heavy beer drinking, or no beer drinking at all. One more thing: It may only work if you’re a woman. That’s right, a woman. A University of Gothenburg news release reports that researchers at the school surveyed 1,500 women, asking about the frequency of their consumption of beer, wine or spirits (from ‘daily’ to ‘nothing in the past 10 years’), and about various physical symptoms. A 32-year followup survey found a statistically significant connection between high consumption of spirits (defined as more frequent than once or twice per month) and an almost 50 per cent higher risk of dying of cancer, compared with those who drink less frequently. It also found that women who drank beer once or twice per week to once or twice per month ran a 30 per cent lower risk of a heart attack than women who drank beer several times per week/daily or never drank beer. The bottom line: Moderate consumption of beer seems to protect women from heart attacks.