PRITIKIN ePERSPECTIVE

Is Drinking Alcohol Good For My Heart?

Ask the Experts: The Dietitians, Scientists, and Doctors at the Pritikin Center Answer Your Questions

Recently, a much publicized study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that men who drank alcohol at least three or four days a week had fewer heart attacks than those who did not drink. So, of course, headlines coast to coast roared, “Drink Up! Alcohol Is Good For Your Heart.”

True, this study, like dozens before it, showed that moderate or light drinkers have a lower risk of heart disease than nondrinkers. One to two drinks daily may also reduce the risk of diabetes and memory loss. Very few scientists dispute these benefits.

Scientists do not know, however, if adding alcohol to a very low-fat, highfiber, heart-healthy diet like the Pritikin Eating Plan confers additional cardiovascular benefits.

The point is: There are better, safer ways than drinking alcohol to lower heart disease risk. With long-term, close adherence to the Pritikin Program, you can prevent – even reverse – heart disease, without drinking at all.

And there’s much to be said for not drinking at all. No doubt about it, excessive alcohol drinking has its downsides:

• Alcohol consumption of more than three drinks a day may raise blood pressure and may increase the risk of mouth, throat, and pancreatic cancer. Excessive alcohol intake also increases the risk of cirrhosis of the liver and damage to the heart muscle and brain.
• For women, there is some increased risk of breast cancer with one alcoholic drink a day. However, recent studies indicate that this elevated risk is associated primarily with women on estrogen replacement therapy. No increased risk of breast cancer has been found among women who consume 1/2 drink a day.
• Alcohol use is associated with increased risk of relapse of other problem behaviors, like cigarette smoking and unsafe driving. Alcohol drinking is linked with some 100,000 deaths a year from injury and disease – more than the number of deaths from heart disease (estimated at 80,000) that it may prevent.
• For people who are trying to lose weight, alcohol may act as a deterrent because it adds an abundance of calories (see table below) yet little in the way of stomach-filling satisfaction.

Pritikin Program Guidelines

If you do not drink alcohol, we recommend that you continue to abstain. You can dramatically lower your risk of cardiovascular disease with the Pritikin Program alone.

If you choose to drink, here are Pritikin Program guidelines:

• For women, no more than 4 drinks weekly (not more than 1/2 to 1 drink per day). This guideline is especially important for women on estrogen therapy and/or women concerned about their risk of breast cancer.
• For men, no more than 7 drinks weekly (not more than 1 to 2 drinks per day).

A drink is generally defined as 4 to 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1-1/2 ounces of 80 proof distilled liquor.

For cardiovascular health, all types of alcohol – wine, beer, and distilled liquor – have proven beneficial. We, however, recommend that you choose wine. Wine, especially red wine, contains some antioxidants that may be of value in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. We recommend red wine over white wine, white wine over beer, and beer over liquor.

All the above are guidelines for when you’re at home. At the Pritikin Longevity Center, no alcohol is served because many guests appreciate a “time out” from life, an optimal environment devoid of potentially addictive substances like alcohol. Moreover, many guests are trying to lose weight. As we stated earlier, drinking alcohol and trying to lose weight are not a good “mix.”

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