Studies have shown that moderate consumption of alcohol have heart healthy effectson the heart. Experts, looking at the pros and cons of taking wine or beer indicated that there was no difference in their heart protective effects, aside the differences in their vitamins

and antibodies, reports Sade Oguntola.

It is well known that moderate levels of alcohol have heart-healthy benefits, including making men 30 to 35 per cent less likely to have a heart attack than those who abstain. Alcohol, whether it’s beer, wine, or the hard stuff in moderation raises high-density lipoprotein or HDL, known as good cholesterol.

What is more, intake of moderate amounts of alcohol has a favourable effect on the lining of blood vessels, making them less likely to form a clot or for  a clot to rupture and plug an artery, and may help protect against Type 2 diabetes.

Beer or wine: Which drink should you order? Many studies have found evidence that wine has a more beneficial effect than other alcoholic drinks.

Wine tends to get most of the attention when it comes to the health benefits of alcohol primarily because of the French paradox, a reference to the relatively low rate of heart disease in France in spite of a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol.

But do the health benefits of wine come from the wine itself? Or are wine drinkers just healthy eaters in general?

This mystery has led many nutrition researchers to take apart and analyse the chemicals in the grape and its fermented fluid in hopes of uncovering a molecule that might answer that question.

Multiple studies have linked moderate red wine consumption—roughly one or two glasses a day—to a longer, healthier life due to its unique antioxidants like resveratrol, a substance found in the skin of grapes (and to a lesser degree in peanuts and blueberries). Resveratrol is only present in red wine, though, not white, since white wine is fermented without the skin.

For instance, a Texas study which tracked the drinking habits of 800 people during a 20-year period indicated that those who didn’t drink alcohol suffered from the highest mortality rates—69 per cent of participants died during the study period.

Among moderate alcohol drinkers who consumed little or no wine, the death rate dropped to 50 per cent. Moderate drinkers who consumed mostly wine had the lowest mortality rate—just 32 per cent.

Moderate drinking is defined as an average of two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women. A drink is defined as 355 millilitres (or mls) of beer, 148 mls of wine or 44 mls of 80-proof distilled spirits. The difference in dose is as a result of higher weight found in men than females.

In fact, wine drinkers have lower cancer rates. This may be because of resveratrol, which has been shown to help in slowing the formation and growth of cancer, though researchers say more studies are needed to confirm this.

But a study in an issue of the British Medical Journal, suggests that the healthy benefits of wine may be less about the wine itself and more about the daily diet of wine drinkers in general that helps them stay healthy. Wine drinkers make healthier food choices than beer drinkers.

Beer drinkers purchased more premade meals, sugar, cold cuts, pork, butter, sausages and soft drinks while wine shoppers tended to choose healthy items such as olives, fruit, vegetables, poultry, cooking oil, low-fat cheese.

In addition, studies by the researchers found that wine drinkers were younger, wealthier, less likely to smoke, and more physically fit than their beer counterparts.

Still, beer consumption gives the body more calories than merely drinking wine. White wines come out to an average of about 65 calories per glass, while red wine only comes out to slightly more at 70 calories per glass.

To simply ask which drink one should order is too simple a question because each alcoholic beverage has its pros and cons. For instance, beer is cheaper and more accessible than wine.  There are other factors ranging from health benefits or concerns to more practical ones like those of taste and enjoyment. Also, the beer industry’s marketing strategy has made the product very popular.

But how does beer compare to wine regarding their health benefits? Experts indicate that beer is more nutritious than wine. Unfiltered beer contains important B vitamins like niacin and folic acid, several minerals, and as many antioxidants as wine. But its antioxidants are different from that in wine because wine comes from grapes and beer is made with grains, mainly barley and hops.

Beer’s vitamin B6 content, a 2001 Czech Republic study found reduces the build up of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood, which has been linked to heart disease.

Alcohol, including beer, in moderation also gives the brain a boost. Adults over age 65 who drank one to six alcoholic beverages over the course of the week turned out to have a lower risk of dementia than non-drinkers or heavier drinkers, according to a 2003 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Of course, beer isn’t good for everyone. Other studies have shown that consuming two or more glasses of alcohol a day may increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

Dr Abiodun Adeoye, a consultant cardiologist, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State was however of the opinion that a non-drinker should not take up the habit just for the health benefits.

The expert, who pointed out that in comparing red wine with beer, researchers had proved that the heart benefits are the same and that even people who take red wine tend to have higher systolic blood pressure and heart rate than those that use beer, declared “the facts about the use of alcohol to protect the heart are not as straightforward as being marketed by lovers of alcohol. Let us be very careful.”

So what should be the better preference?  It appears that the question of which to order, beer or wine, stems largely from the health benefits or perceived health benefits of either. So when worried about gaining weight or maintaining a healthy heart, it might be better sticking to wine.

If you believe that beer is healthier for you, then you should forego that glass of wine and just open up a can of beer. Or you can simply just go by taste alone, deciding on a per-meal basis which alcoholic drink goes best with your food.

What is more, if one’s choice is a glass of wine for health reasons, what one does in between drinks may be more important in determining how healthy you will be, rather than taking wine or beer. Multiple studies have found that only moderate intake of alcohol is beneficial.

Overdoing it, however, can have the opposite effect. Men who take back five or more drinks when had a 30 per cent greater risk for death via heart disease.

Of course, beer isn’t good for everyone. Other studies have shown that consuming two or more glasses of alcohol a day may increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

Dr Adeoye argued that the health benefits from alcohol use can be derived through other means and so it was important to consider other means of remaining healthy such as eating a healthy diet, staying active, controlling stress and avoidance of excess weight.

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