AGEING abstainers are being urged to raise a glass if they want to lift their life expectancy.
Teetotallers who become moderate drinkers in middle age are significantly less likely to suffer heart attacks and strokes than those who continue to abstain, according to a major new study.
It shows that, in moderation, the so-called "demon drink"
can have life-saving qualities.
Researchers found that women aged between 45 and 64, who began consuming an average of one alcoholic drink per day, cut their risk of developing cardiovascular disease by almost 40%.
This was also true for middle-aged men who allowed themselves up to two alcoholic drinks per day.
Guidelines from the UK Food Standards Agency say that between one and two units of alcohol per day can help protect against heart disease.
However, experts have been divided on whether this advice should apply to non-drinkers.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, found that those who did take up drinking reduced both their blood pressure and levels of "bad" cholesterol, while boosting levels of "good" cholesterol.
Dr Dana King, the study's lead author, said: "The current study demonstrated that new, moderate drinking lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease.
"Any such benefit must be weighed with caution against the known ill consequences of alcohol consumption."
The researchers, whose study was published in The American Journal of Medicine, analysed data from a 10-year study of 7,697 middle-aged American non-drinkers with no history of cardiovascular disease. Six years into the study, 6% of participants had become moderate drinkers, with the women consuming an average of one alcoholic drink per day and the men having two.
At the end of the study the researchers found that 10.7% of the teetotallers had suffered some form of heart disease or stroke, compared to just 6.9% of the moderate drinkers.
After adjusting the results for other factors such as smoking, weight and exercise, those who had taken up drinking a small quantity of alcohol were 38% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those who continued to abstain.
The new drinkers were found to have significantly lower levels of "bad" low-density lipoprotein cholesterol which clogs up arteries, and significantly more "good" high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which helps to prevent furring of arteries.
They also had lower blood pressure.
The small number of teetotallers who had become heavy drinkers six years into the study were 42% more likely than the continued abstainers to have suffered cardiovascular disease.
The full article contains 433 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
