Healthy drinking

A combination of a healthy active lifestyle and moderate drinking leads to a longer life according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal. The study by Danish researchers found that people who did not drink or take any exercise had the highest risk of heart disease. Non-drinkers who were physically active had a 30% reduced risk of ischaemic heart disease compared to physically inactive non-drinkers. Physically active people who drank at least one drink a week had a risk 50% lower than that of physically inactive non-drinkers. Moderate drinking was defined as up to 14 units a week. In the past it has been suggested that drinking alcohol decreases the risk of heart disease by possibly thinning the blood and increasing the proportion of "good" cholesterol.

European Heart Journal: The combined influence of leisure-time physical activity and weekly alcohol intake on fatal ischaemic heart disease and all-cause mortality doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehm574