The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2011 that heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. High levels of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL -- also known as "bad" -- cholesterol put you at serious risk for developing heart disease. If your diet is high in saturated fat, you're setting the stage for overloading your body with bad cholesterol. Depending on your heart health, your consumption of alcohol could affect your LDL levels in a positive or negative way.
Moderate Alcohol Consumption
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, moderate drinkers -- those who consume one or two alcoholic beverages a day -- tend to have lower risk of death from all causes, including heart disease, than heavy drinkers or those who abstain from alcohol. A study at Eemland Hospital in the Netherlands published in the December 1999 issue of "Atherosclerosis" suggests that, while moderate consumption of red and white wine significantly helps oxidize -- and thus lower -- LDL, nonalcoholic grape-based drinks like grape juice also may have a positive effect on LDL levels.
LDL Levels
The degree to which moderate alcohol consumption can help lower LDL depends on the current concentration of bad cholesterol in your system. Copenhagen researchers studied the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on middle-aged men with high LDL and middle-aged men with low LDL. They reported in the May 1996 "Nutrition Research Newsletter" that those who already had low LDL showed no increased heart disease risk after six years of moderate consumption. Men who started the study with high LDL had considerably higher risk of heart disease.
The French Paradox
The "Nutrition Research Newsletter" article notes that in France, people tend to have relatively lower heart disease risks than those in other developed countries, despite the fact that the French diet is high in saturated fat. The researchers suggest that the French affinity for red wine with meals may help explain this paradox -- maybe the wine helped prevent the development of LDL in the first place. Unfortunately, this information is of little use if you're already at risk for heart disease.
Dangers of Excess
Alcohol won't help your LDL levels -- and could damage your overall health -- if you consume it excessively. Too much alcohol in your system interferes with your body's ability to break down important vitamins and nutrients from the food you eat and could do serious damage to your vital organs.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Heart Disease Is the Number One Cause of Death; January 2011
- State University of New York Potsdam; Alcohol Problems and Solutions; David J. Hanson, Ph.D.
- "Atherosclerosis"; The Role of Alcohol in the Anti Low Density Lipoprotein Oxidation Activity of Red Wine; P.H. van Golde, et al.; December 1999
- "Nutrition Research Newsletter"; Alcohol, LDL Cholesterol, and Heart Disease; Frost, et al.; May 1996
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Alcohol and Nutrition; October 1993
