While the resveratrol in a glass of wine can benefit your ticker, other alcohol doesn’t have the same heart benefits, data from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found recently.
The research team, which shared their findings in BMJ, a journal, carefully reviewed 50 other similar research papers that overall studied at least 260,000 total people. The London researchers found that genetic variants can determine if a person will consume more or less alcohol. Those that drink less beer and other drinks do tend to have better heart health than heavier drinkers.
More specifically, less frequent drinkers lowered their chances of developing coronary heart disease by at least 10 percent compared to those that drink more often. The researchers also found fewer incidents of a high-body mass index and high blood pressure among the less frequent drinkers.
The London team noticed that the genetic variant determines how quickly that a person’s body can digest alcohol once its consumed. Those that do so more slowly will typically experience discomfort compared to those who can pass alcohol through their system more quickly. However, that discomfort may act as a deterrent to stop drinking.
