Refusal of alcohol leads to harmful shifts – an increase in poor cholesterol and a decrease in good. And vice versa: when a person begins to drink, opposite changes occur. This information became clear thanks to a large study, and such results were scared. There are explanations for this: alcohol has many negative effects, the harm of which can outweigh this benefit. But “you can’t throw a word from the song”, especially if this song is “scientific”.
How the study took place
A large study conducted in Japan and just published in the network “Journal of the American Medical Association” of Jama Network Open cannot be ignored. It has been made very correctly and analyzes the history of 58 thousand adult Japanese, regularly passing medical examinations. Scientists analyzed almost 330 thousand medical examinations, which passed from 2012 to 2022 (each participant underwent examinations several times during this period). People taking drugs that reduce cholesterol were excluded.
The consumption of any alcoholic beverages was studied, including beer, wine, whiskey, brandy, cocktails and, of course, sake and a gender (the last two – traditional Japanese drinks with a fortress of 15 and 20–25 degrees, respectively – approx. Ed.). The total consumption of alcohol per day was estimated, and 10 g of pure alcohol (ethanol) were considered one standard dose.
Alcohol and cholesterol in numbers
And that’s what turned out. When the teetotalers began to drink, they had a decrease in the level of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and an increase in “good” (LDP). Moreover, the latter sometimes grew even higher than when taking drugs from a group of fibrates (these drugs are used much less often than statins, but among other things, they increase “good” cholesterol – approx. Ed.).
This is how these positive shifts in the cholesterol content occurred depending on the dose of alcohol. “Bad” cholesterol (LDL) decreased by:
– 0.85 mg/dl in those who began to drink less than 1.5 portions of alcohol per day;
– 4.40 mg/DL in those who consumed from 1.5 to 3 portions of alcohol per day;
– 7.44 mg/dl when using more than 3 servings per day.
When consuming the same doses of alcohol, “good” cholesterol increased by 0.58, 2.49 and 6.12 mg/DL, respectively.
And now the most unexpected discovery of scientists. When people stopped drinking, the “bad” cholesterol began to grow. In accordance with the above doses, it increased by 1.10, 3.71 and 6.53 mg/DL. In addition, the “good” decreased by 1.25, 3.35 and 5.65 mg/DL.
Here is how the researchers interpret these figures in the article: “Although the absolute change in“ bad ”cholesterol seems modest, its increase by 5 mg/dl is associated with an increase in the risk of serious cardiovascular outcomes by 2-3 % (we are talking about heart attacks, severe heart failure and strokes-approx. Ed.), Which implies a significant impact on social health at the level of the execution.”
How to relate to all this?
If you start from the numbers, it seems that the more you drink, the lower the cholesterol. In fact, this is not so. It already ceases to decline after 3 doses of alcohol (30 g of ethanol) per day, that is, it is not worth exceeding this amount in any case. How can this dose be evaluated in terms of toxicity?
The World Health Organization (WHO) distinguishes three degrees of health risk associated with alcohol (AIF.ru wrote about this earlier). For men, a low -risk zone includes consumption of up to 3 of the above doses per day or up to 21 doses per week. Average risk – from 21 to 35 doses per week, all that is more – high risk. For women, these risks correspond to the doses: up to 14, from 14 to 28 and above 28. Please note that it is only about the degree of risk to health.
At the same time, experts say that there is no safe doses of alcohol at all. In this light, it is necessary to evaluate the scientific data obtained in Japan.
“The level of cholesterol should be carefully monitored after the cessation of alcohol use in order to reduce the potential risks of cardiovascular diseases,” the researchers summed up.
Source: aif.ru