How does moderate consumption of low-alcohol beverages affect blood lipids? A scientific analysis of its advantages and disadvantages.

Moderate consumption of low-alcohol beverages is advisable: During holidays and festivals, friends and family gather, and it's customary to raise a glass in celebration. In the midst of this revelry, it's easy to overindulge, and alcohol frequently causes harm to the body.

Extensive research indicates that excessive drinking increases the burden on the heart and liver, damaging all cells in the body. Heavy drinking inhibits lipoprotein lipase, leading to increased synthesis of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the liver, slowing the elimination of LDL from the blood, and increasing triglyceride (TG) levels, thus accelerating atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Increased cardiac burden is often due to excessive drinking; alcohol directly damages the myocardium, causing myocardial energy metabolism disorders and inducing heart disease. Excessive drinking significantly increases the burden on the liver; alcohol directly damages liver cells, leading to fatty liver and cirrhosis. Excessive drinking can also irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa, causing erosion, bleeding, or even cancer.

However, this does not mean that drinking alcohol is entirely harmful. Domestic and international research and observations indicate that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial to the human body. Small, continuous alcohol consumption significantly improves lipid metabolism, naturally increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and lowering blood lipids. This interrupts the pathways to atherosclerosis, protecting the cardiovascular system and reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease. Research from Harvard Medical School in the United States has shown that daily alcohol consumption of less than 50 grams can reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and increase HDL levels, preventing fat deposition and thus significantly reducing the mortality rate from coronary heart disease. Recently, more and more studies have indicated that one way to protect the heart is to drink moderate amounts of fruit wine, especially red wine, which can reduce the occurrence of coronary heart disease. For this reason, the American Heart Association recommends that even coronary heart disease patients with myocardial infarction can drink low-alcohol beverages in moderation, but the daily intake should be less than 50 grams, and strong alcoholic beverages should be avoided. Research and observations by Chinese medical experts indicate that habitual moderate drinkers, regardless of gender, will have elevated levels of HDL in their blood. A study of 34 postmenopausal women who drank 30 ml of alcohol daily for four months showed that, compared to a control group, serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) increased by 10% and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-G) decreased by 8%. Research from the Cardiovascular Institute of Harbin Medical University has demonstrated that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial to human fat metabolism; the HDL-C level in the drinking group was significantly higher than in the non-drinking group, and it can significantly reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease.

Based on the above discussion, it is clear that small, moderate, and continuous alcohol consumption can increase HDL-C and decrease LDL-C, playing a significant role in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Therefore, both healthy individuals and those with hyperlipidemia can benefit from moderate consumption of low-alcohol beverages, ideally less than 50 grams per day, to help prevent and treat hyperlipidemia.