On a sunny day, there is nothing as delicious as a cool, crisp beer.
And drinking a pint a day is good for the heart, a study has found.
While binge drinking is known to harm our health, moderate consumption reduces the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases by a quarter, researchers discovered.
The team, from the IRCCS Mediterranean Neurological Institute, Pozzilli, said the alcohol and other chemicals in the drink reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and artery disease.
They reviewed 150 studies and concluded drinking 1.4 pints or two 330ml cans protect the heart without increasing the odds of dementia or cancers, the Times reports.
One of the authors, Dr. Simona Costanzo, of the IRCCS Mediterranean Neurological Institute, said it is important to note that the study found only moderate drinking has health benefits.
Excessive drinking – such as binging on a lot of alcohol at the weekend – is known to harm the body, she insisted.
She told Italian health website ItaliaSalute: ‘Instead a moderate and regular consumption of beer, placed in the context of a healthy diet, with a healthy lifestyle also involving physical activity, appears to have no detrimental effects, and indeed demonstrated its ability to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.’
The study comes after a slew of research suggests moderate drinking – of wine as well as beer – does better than harm and can be part of a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Beer is known to contains a high level of antioxidants – compounds which mop up harmful chemicals thought to cause heart attacks.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3584448/A-beer-day-keeps-heart-attack-bay-one-reduces-risk-disease-quarter.html