We’ll drink to that

A new American survey has shown that people who drink up to three glasses of alcohol a day have less chance of having a heart attack than people who consume no alcohol at all.

If it is true that 9,000 American males can’t be wrong then the risk of heart attacks is lowest amongst healthy men who drink moderately up to three pots of full-strength beer a day. The standard drink was measured as a pot of full strength beer, a stubby of medium strength beer, or a spirit nip.

The survey, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, showed that of the 106 men who had heart attacks, eight consumed 1.5 to three standard drinks a day and nine had three or more standard drinks a day. By comparison 28 men who suffered heart attacks drank no alcohol at all.

All men in the study were aged between 40 and 75 and were non-smokers who did regular excise and had a balanced diet.

The American results, however, were treated with some caution in Melbourne. Vic Health chief executive, Rob Moodie, said that “socially and from a health point of view moderate drinking in this case looks to be beneficial but the problem is over-consumption. Managing it socially and in moderation is great, but drawing the line between the two is the big issue”.