ABSTRACT
Alcohol is linked to more than 200 diseases, conditions, and injuries. However, extensive scientific literature indicates that alcohol has beneficial effects on health as well. For example, the association between alcohol intake and mortality is found to be J-shaped, indicating that moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with a lower risk, when compared to heavy consumption or abstention. Also, alcohol has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Several epidemiological studies suggest that alcohol’s protective effects are due to favorable changes in anti-inflammatory effects, blood lipids, such as high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1, as well as in insulin sensitivity. Alcohol has also been associated with the level of fibrinogen, a plasma protein important for the coagulation of blood, which contributes to part of the protective effects of alcohol on cardiovascular disease by decreasing the risk of thrombosis.
