DRINK IN MODERATION

Moderate alcohol intake – defined as no more than one standard drink for women and two standard drinks for men per day – has been associated with a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease when compared with individuals who abstain from drinking or partake in excessive drinking, according to a new study by the American College of Cardiology. “We found stress-related activity in the brain was higher in non-drinkers when compared with people who drank moderately, while people who drank excessively (more than 14 drinks per week) had the highest level of stress-related brain activity,” said Kenechukwu Mezue, MD, the study’s lead author. He cautioned these findings should not encourage alcohol use, but said they could open doors to new therapeutics or prescribing stress-relieving activities like yoga to minimise stress signals: “The study suggests moderate alcohol intake beneficially impacts the brain-heart connection. However, alcohol has several important side effects, including increased risk of cancer and liver damage ... so other interventions with better side effect profiles that beneficially impact brain-heart pathways are needed.”