everyone seems to think, or at least wants to believe, that alcohol in moderation is good for you. but alcohol increases the risk of cancer, especially breast cancer , and the evidence for the supposed cardiovascular benefits of red wine is not that great, either.
alcohol, in fact, can be quite problematic. it raises your blood pressure and the high sugar content contributes to weight gain .
a new study in the new england journal of medicine looked at the effects of alcohol consumption and a type of arrhythmia known as atrial fibrillation (or afib).
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medications can control the arrhythmia, but some lifestyle factors can help, too. although age is a significant risk factor for developing afib, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea and a sedentary lifestyle are all risk factors, as well.
another risk factor that isn’t always discussed is alcohol . it increases the risk of afib long-term and also can serve as a trigger for individual episodes. how it does this is debatable. given that alcohol causes weight gain, high blood pressure and raises blood sugar, it is possible it is simply acting via these traditional cardiac risk factors. but there is also evidence that alcohol can disrupt the electrical activity in the heart muscle and affect the heart muscle directly in the long term.
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christopher labos is a montreal doctor and an associate with the mcgill office for science and society. he also co-hosts a podcast called the body of evidence.