Heavy drinking can affect your cholesterol levels in two ways: It can elevate your triglycerides, a type of fat included in your cholesterol profile, and it can lead to weight gain, a factor in raising your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides as well as lowering your protective high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Drinking red wine in moderation may reduce your LDL cholesterol.
Alcohol and Triglycerides
Most animal products, including cheese and chicken, contain triglycerides. Your body also produces triglycerides, most easily from sugar and alcohol. If you drink more than one or two servings of alcohol a day, you may increase your triglycerides and your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. The American Heart Association recommends men younger than 50 drink no more than two alcoholic beverages daily and that women and older men drink no more than one.
Serving Size
Heavy drinking, as defined by the AHA, includes any amount of alcohol in excess of one or two servings a day. A serving of beer equals 12 oz. A serving of wine equals 4 oz. If you drink hard liquor, 1 1/2 oz. of 80-proof liquor equals a serving, and 1 oz. of 100-proof liquor equals a serving. If you order a drink with a double shot of alcohol, count it as two drinks. Some alcohol-rich drinks, such as a Long Island iced tea, count as three or four servings.
Weight Gain
The calories in alcoholic beverages add up quickly. Heavy beer drinking -- three cans a day -- adds about 450 calories to your diet. If you didn't compensate for those extra calories by eating less or exercising more, you could gain 1 lb. every seven or eight days. If your daily menu included three margaritas -- 168 calories each -- you could pack on 1 lb. every week or more than 50 lbs. a year, based on the formula that 3,500 calories equals l lb.
Considerations
Red wine contains antioxidants, including a flavonoid called resveratrol. Resveratrol may reduce your LDL cholesterol, protecting you against heart disease. But the benefits of resveratrol do not outweigh the potential health consequences of heavy drinking. And you can obtain resveratrol without drinking wine -- the skin of red grapes contains it. Heavy drinking may increase your blood pressure. High blood pressure may lead to high cholesterol, as high blood pressure stretches and scars the walls of your arteries, creating crevices in which cholesterol and triglycerides can easily accumulate.
References
- MayoClinic.com; High Cholesterol: Risk Factors; June 2010
- "Circulation"; Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association; Michael Miller, et al.; April 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Red Wine and Resveratrol: Good for Your Heart?; March 2011
- American Heart Association: Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease
- College Drinking -- Changing the Culture: Alcohol Calorie Counter
- American Heart Association: Heart and Artery Damage and High Blood Pressure
