An alcoholic¹ drink a day can help keep heart disease at bay, according to a review of 30 years of research.

一项30年的调查显示，每天适度饮酒可以免受心脏疾病的困扰。

The work, published in the British Medical Journal, showed a 14% to 25% reduction in heart disease in moderate drinkers compared with people who had never drunk alcohol.

Another article, by the same Canadian research group, showed alcohol increased "good" cholesterol²（胆固醇） levels.

But experts said this was not a reason to start drinking.

For many years, studies have suggested that drinking alcohol in moderation has some health benefits.

Scientists at the University of Calgary reviewed 84 pieces of research between 1980 and 2009.

Reduced risk

One unit of alcohol in the UK, equivalent to half a pint³ of normal beer, contains 8g of pure alcohol.

This review showed that the overall risk of death was lower for those consuming small quantities of alcohol, 2.5g to 14.9g, compared with non-drinkers.

The researchers also say regular moderate drinking reduced all forms of cardiovascular（心血管的） disease by up to 25%.

However, while consuming small quantities of alcohol had a beneficial effect on the number of strokes and stroke deaths, the risk increased substantially with heavier drinking.

Professor William Ghali, from the Institute for Population and Public Health at the University of Calgary, told the BBC: "Our extensive review shows that drinking one or one to two drinks would be favourable⁴.

"There is this potentially slippery slope, most notably⁵ with social problems and alcoholic cirrhosis（酒精性肝硬变） of the liver, but the overall mortality including cancer and accidents shows you would be better with alcohol."

Moderation

Cathy Ross, senior cardiac（心脏的） nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This analysis of previous studies supports what we already know about moderate drinking reducing our risk of cardiovascular disease.

"However, drinking more than sensible amounts of alcohol does not offer any protection and can cause high blood pressure, stroke, some cancers and damage to our heart.

"If you don't drink, this is not a reason to start. Similar results can be achieved by being physically⁶ active and eating a balanced and healthy diet."

The researchers believe any beneficial effects are down to the alcohol itself, rather than anything else in a drink.

Their second study suggests that drinking up to 15g a day for women or 30g for men increased levels of good cholesterol（胆固醇） , adiponectin（脂联素） and apolipoprotein（载脂蛋白） , which have been linked to a healthy heart.

They said this pattern was true for all types of beverage⁷（饮料） .

The research group believes that governments may have to change their messages on public health to argue for drinking alcohol in moderation.

Prof Ghali said: "There's no doubt a public health campaign would be controversial. We need to ponder the message of how a doctor talks to a patient and how the government talks to the people."

Professor Lindsey Davies, president of the Faculty⁸ of Public Health, added: "It just strengthens the argument that a little bit does you good, but a lot does you harm, but that always makes a public health message hard."