While studies have shown that drinking both red and white wine in moderation can reap a variety of health benefits, the same can’t be said of its hoppy cousin beer. That is, until now.
A new study from Penn State University found that moderate beer drinkers—those that have about one or two per day—showed a slower decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol levels. In plain English, that means that they were at a lower risk for cardiovascular disease. (For women, the amount of beer consumed is slightly less—more like one-half to one full beer per day.) The study even found that the binge-drinking type even showed positive decreases in good cholesterol levels.
The study even delved into liquor drinking, showing that light to moderate levels of consumption were beneficial—but that equaled less than a single serving among men and even less for women. That basically means the $5 can-and-a-shot special at your local watering hole could be keeping you healthy after all.
You can thank Shue Huang, a doctoral candidate in nutritional sciences at Penn State, and her colleagues for making the study happen. She followed some 80,000 participants over six years in China, and last month presented her preliminary findings at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2016 in New Orleans.
For more on the study, click here.
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