Cholesterol and Alcohol

[BIGNBUFF]

My dad has high cholesterol levels. His doctor has him on a very low fat diet. However, my dad also drinks alot of beer. Could the alcohol be having an effect on his cholesterol levels as well? I didn't think it did and it just added extra calories. I just wanted to check with you all though.

 

[Matthew D]

Non-linear models for the relation between cardiovascular risk factors and intake of wine, beer and spirits.

Ambler G, Royston P, Head J.

Department of Statistical Science, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. [email protected]

It is generally accepted that moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). It is not clear however whether this benefit is derived through the consumption of a specific beverage type, for example, wine. In this paper the associations between known CHD risk factors and different beverage types are investigated using a novel approach with non-linear modelling. Two types of model are proposed which are designed to detect differential effects of beverage type. These may be viewed as extensions of Box and Tidwell's power-linear model. The risk factors high density lipoprotein cholesterol, fibrinogen and systolic blood pressure are considered using data from a large longitudinal study of British civil servants (Whitehall II). The results for males suggest that gram for gram of alcohol, the effect of wine differs from that of beer and spirits, particularly for systolic blood pressure. In particular increasing wine consumption is associated with slightly more favourable levels of all three risk factors studied. For females there is evidence of a differential relationship only for systolic blood pressure. These findings are tentative but suggest that further research is required to clarify the similarities and differences between the results for males and females and to establish whether either of the models is the more appropriate. However, having clarified these issues, the apparent benefit of consuming wine instead of other alcoholic beverages may be relatively small. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PMID: 12529869 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

[Matthew D]

Types of alcoholic beverages and blood lipids in a French population.

Ruidavets JB, Ducimetiere P, Arveiler D, Amouyel P, Bingham A, Wagner A, Cottel D, Perret B, Ferrieres J.

Department of Epidemiology, INSERM U558, Faculty of Medicine, Toulouse, France. [email protected]

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Prospective studies have shown a consistent relation between alcohol consumption and decreasing incidence of coronary artery disease. The protective effect of alcohol could be mediated through increased levels of HDL cholesterol (HDL-c). The aim of this study was to examine the relation between blood lipid levels and the consumption of different types of alcoholic beverages among 1581 men and 1535 women. DESIGN: Data from representative cross sectional surveys (1994-1997) in three different regions of France were used. The consumption of the different types of alcohol was quantified using a recall method according to a typical weekly consumption. MAIN RESULTS: The median daily alcohol intake was 24 g for men and 4 g for women. After adjustment for confounders, total alcohol showed a positive and significant association with HDL-c and triglycerides (TG) in both sexes. In multivariate analysis, wine was positively associated with HDL-c. Beer was positively associated with HDL-c in men and with triglycerides in men and women. When taking drinking patterns into account, wine drinkers had higher HDL-c levels than non-wine drinkers. Differences became non-significant after adjustment for confounders and particularly for socioeconomic parameters. CONCLUSIONS: In a French population sample, total alcohol was positively associated with HDL-c and triglycerides. The specific influence of any particular alcoholic beverage on blood lipids was not clearly demonstrated but wine preference found in a group with higher lifestyle standards was associated with a more favourable blood lipid profile.

PMID: 11801616 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

[Matthew D]

Okay that is just a little bit of searching of PubMed... at the bottom of each page is a little search engine and it will help you look up answers to this. Sorry not trying to be an ass, but I got a ton of hits just using beer and cholesterol.

 

[Matthew D]

On a personal note, I watch my dad suffer 2 bypass surgeries and then the heart attack that killed him years later. He drank whiskey not beer, but I firmly believe to this day that was a very big factor in his death. Along with smoking and his diet. If you dad is overweight, has high cholesterol, and drinking.. I just think that is a not very good combination.

 

[BIGNBUFF]

Well I mean he's not an alcoholic. He just drinks 1-2 times per week with his golf buddies maybe 4-5 beers each time. And yes he's overweight. Do you think this much will have a great effect on him? I'm assuming you thought he was an alcoholic.

 

[Matthew D]

Well the weight I would be semi concerned about.. .so if you are trying to help.. try getting him to start working out.. point out some of the advantages to weight training for his golf game.. .and his overall fun on the course...

 

[BIGNBUFF]

Well the weight I would be semi concerned about.. .so if you are trying to help.. try getting him to start working out.. point out some of the advantages to weight training for his golf game.. .and his overall fun on the course...

Yup that's what I've been doing.

 

[Matthew D]

Sounds like you have been doing things right then BnB..