A drink or two -- now and then -- may help cut your risk of heart disease and diabetes. But don't take up drinking just to gain the benefits, medical experts say.
Writing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences say their study of older individuals "with a lifestyle that includes moderate alcohol consumption appear to benefit from a lower risk for coronary heart disease."
The scientists suggest moderate drinking could help raise "good" cholesterol that helps protect against heart disease. Out of 900 patients studied, researchers found those having a drink at least twice weekly were at 54 percent lower risk compared with teetotalers.
When it comes to lowering the risk of diabetes, those who abstained from alcohol had a 24.5 percent risk compared to moderate drinkers with an 11.8 percent risk. But the researchers caution that such findings should not be considered sufficient evidence to take up drinking to reduce such risks.
