"Good" cholesterol no protection
Everyone's saying wine is good for your heart. But if you use that as an excuse to drink too much, it'll have just the opposite effect.
Numerous studies have shown that having a couple of drinks each day is a heart-healthy habit. (Note, a couple of drinks per day.) That's because alcohol can help boost HDL "good" cholesterol levels, and HDL cholesterol is thought to offer a protective effect on the heart (hence the name, "good").
But it's not as simple—or healthy—for everyone as having just a drink or two each day, especially if you go over those suggested drink guidelines. As I've said before, everyone is different, and what works for one may have no effect, or even have a detrimental effect, on another. Your body is a complex, interwoven system with its own unique way of handling food, stress, environmental factors, and even alcohol. So, just because you had your cholesterol levels tested and found out that your HDL "good" cholesterol level is high doesn't necessarily mean that all is well with your heart health. There are other factors to consider.
One in particular is your blood pressure.
A very large study recently took place in Japan showing that drinking heavily can actually raise your blood pressure despite having a high HDL level, especially if you're a man over 50. That means that a high HDL level does not necessarily translate into an overall protective effect on the heart as had been thought.
The researchers looked at 21,301 men, with one group ranging in age from 20 to 29 and the other from 50 to 59.
Here's what the study found:
1) The men ages 20 to 29 who drank and had low HDL levels were no more or less likely to have high blood pressure than their non-drinking peers. So within this age range, drinking and HDL cholesterol didn't seem to have an effect on blood-pressure levels one way or the other.
2) In this same age group, the men who drank heavily but had high HDL levels were more likely than their non-drinking peers to have high blood pressure. So much for the claim that high HDL levels always have a protective effect on the heart.
3) The men in the older group (50 to 59) had what researchers called "significantly higher" blood pressure—regardless of whether they were light or heavy drinkers or of what their HDL levels were. They already had a risk factor for heart disease just based on their age.
As you can see, what affects heart disease is more complex than being simply a matter of how many drinks you have per week. Doctors have long known that there are multiple factors to consider, such as heredity, stress and lifestyle in general. And having a couple of drinks may not be the best choice for you, so discuss the above advice carefully with your doctor.
