A new study finds that men who usually consume just a pint per day for several years may increase their risk of heart disease. The research suggests that men who drink a pint of beer a day over several years may increase their risk of heart disease by prematurely aging their arteries since too much alcohol consumption can affect the elasticity of the arterial walls and prematurely age the arteries, interfering with blood flow. Researchers said that men who used to drink heavily were at risk for accelerated rates of arterial stiffness compared with moderate drinkers who were in early old age.
Beer And Heart Risk: What's The Link?
According to reports revealed by The Telegraph, US researchers have allegedly tracked nearly 4,000 people for 25 years and found that even a moderate intake, which is also equivalent to half a glass of wine, have the ability to cause the circulatory system to prematurely age. Long before, experts have explained that alcohol may have the ability to enable the activation of enzymes that affect the elasticity of artery walls, interfering with the flow of blood. Just last year, it was found that the UK's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, triggered criticism after significantly lowering the official safe drinking advice to a maximum of 14 units which is roughly six pints of beer a week.
Study Proposition
Meanwhile, as per Mirror Online, the booze apparently didn't have the same effect on women, although the researchers pointed out that 73 percent out of the 3,869 study participants were men. In conducting the study, it was found that the study participants were in their 30s to their 50s, with adjustments made for age and anyone with a history of heart disease were excluded from the study. Consequently, the findings suggest that men were more likely to be heavy drinkers compared with women, and there were twice as many stable non-drinkers and former drinkers among the women than the men.
Furthermore, the researchers said that until now, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, contributing to nearly one-third of deaths. Study lead author Dr. Darragh O'Neill, from UCL, highly emphasized that it still remains unclear as to how alcohol impacted arterial health, but has acknowledged what the previous studies had indicated that drinking could increase the amount of "good" cholesterol in the bloodstream. Ultimately, the experts have revealed that heavier alcohol intake may activate certain enzymes that would lead to collagen accumulation, which could, in turn increase the rate of arterial stiffening.
