Exercising is good for heart health. So is drinking alcohol (beer, wine and liquor or spirits) in moderation. Which wins in an exercise vs. alcohol for heart health contest? Or can we substitute one for the other?
To see if exercise and moderate alcohol consumption are interchangeable, Researchers at the National Institute of Public Health in Denmark wanted to know. Therefore, they studied about 12,000 men and women over a period of 20 years.
The medical researchers had three major findings.
- The lowest risk of fatal heart disease occurred among those who both drank moderately and exercised. They had a 50% reduced risk in comparison with non-drinkers who didn’t exercise. (Researchers defined moderate drinking as having an average of up to two drinks per day for both men and women. This is twice as high as the US federal guideline for women.)
- A higher risk was found among two groups. First, those who abstained from alcohol but exercised. And second, those who drank in moderation but didn’t exercise. In both cases the risk of heart disease dropped about 30% in comparison with abstaining non-exercisers.
- The highest risk was found among those who neither drank nor exercised. Their risk of dying from heart disease was twice as high as those who drank moderately and exercised.
Some people should not drink for various reasons. Therefore the researchers note that “physical activity can reverse some of the adverse health effects associated with alcohol abstention.”
Resources: Exercise vs. Alcohol for Heart Health
Web Pages
When Non-drinkers Begin to Drink, Cardiovascular Disease Risk Drops
Benefits of Moderate Drinking Result from Alcohol Itself
Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease: Moderate Drinking is Protective.
Effects of Alcohol on Risk of Strokes and Heart Attacks (Health Facts).
Drinking and Coronary Artery Disease Risk in US Veterans: Effects of Alcohol.
Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Disease & Mortality among Middle-Aged & Older Women.
Readings
Am Heart Assn. Controlling Your Risk Factors. NY: AHA, 2019.
Ganzit, G. and Stefanini, L. Cardiovascular Diseases and Physical Activity. Torino : SEEd, 2012.
Kokkinos, P. Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2010.
Purcell, J., et al. Heart Attack. What’s Ahead? A Guide for Heart Attack Survivors and Those Who Love Them. Atlanta: Pritchett & Hull, 2012.
Turner, G., et al. Recognizing and Surviving Heart Attacks and Strokes. Lifesaving Advice You Need Now. Columbia: U of Missouri Press, 2008.
Source
Pedersen, J. et al. The combined influence of leisure-time physical activity and weekly alcohol intake on fatal ischaemic heart disease and all-cause mortality. Euro Heart J, 2008, 29(2), 204-212.