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YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS: Drinking a pint of beer a day could improve the health of your heart. This was proved by the specialists of the Harokopio University in Athens, as reported by Armenpress, quoting The Daily Mail. Scientists found blood flow to the heart improved within a couple of hours of polishing off two-thirds of a pint - and that the effect was more powerful than drinking a non-alcoholic equivalent.
Arteries became more flexible and blood flow improved within a couple of hours of drinking the equivalent of two-thirds of a pint. But alcohol-free beer did not have the same powerful effect, the study found. The findings, by researchers in Greece, support previous evidence that moderate beer consumption may protect against heart disease.
Some evidence suggests a pint a day may reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by up to 30 per cent. But this is believed to be one of the first studies to look at what actually happens to the cardiovascular system immediately after a pint is downed. Britain guzzles its way through 130 pints of beer per person a year.
Scientists at Harokopio University in Athens recruited 17 non-smoking men aged in their late twenties and early thirties. Each one had their cardiovascular health measured within an hour or two of drinking 400ml of beer - equivalent to just over two-thirds of a pint. They later they had the same tests done after drinking the same amount of alcohol-free beer or a measure of vodka.
Researchers tested for endothelial function - a measure of how easily blood passes through major arteries - as well as aortic stiffness, a check designed to assess whether blood vessels are nice and relaxed or beginning to harden. The results, published online in the journal Nutrition, showed all three drinks had some beneficial effect on the stiffness of arteries but beer had the greatest benefit.
In a report on their findings the researchers said: ‘Endothelial function was significantly improved only after beer consumption.’ They said the combination of alcohol and antioxidants in beer may be crucial to the drink’s healthy effects. Darker beers, like stouts and ales, have been shown to be better for the heart than lager.
Heart disease is Britain’s biggest killer. Around 270,000 people a year suffer a heart attack and nearly one in three die before they reach hospital. Fatty diets, lack of exercise and smoking are all key risk factors.
Although excess alcohol consumption is thought to increase the dangers of heart disease, moderate intake of beer and wine has been shown to have a protective effect.