Exercise or have a drink? Better exercise AND have a drink
A study of 12,000 people over a 20-year period in Denmark found that exercise and drinking alcohol each had an independent beneficial effect on the heart. The effect was even greater when the two were practiced together. According to TIME magazine:
“People who don’t drink at all and don’t exercise had the highest risk of heart disease. People who drink moderately and exercise had a 50% lower risk. Teetotaling exercisers had a 30% decreased risk, as did moderately drinking couch potatoes. “There’s an additional protective effect to doing both,” says Gronbaek. “That’s the new finding.”
Weekly alcohol intake was inversely associated with fatal ischemic heart disease and had a U-shaped association with all-cause mortality.
References:
The combined influence of leisure-time physical activity and weekly alcohol intake on fatal ischaemic heart disease and all-cause mortality. European Heart Journal 2008 29(2):204-212.
Work Out and Drink Up. TIME.
CNN Video: Alcohol and the heart.
A glass of wine daily may prolong life. How you can you predict which patient will have a bottle daily though?
