No amount of alcohol is good for the heart according to a new policy report by the World Health Federation, fueling an ongoing debate on what role drinking might play in heart heatlh.
Summary
- (CNN) In a bold move, the World Heart Federation released a policy brief Thursday saying that no amount of alcohol is good for the heart.
- “At the World Heart Federation, we decided that it was imperative that we speak up about alcohol and the damages to health, as well as the social and economic harms, because there is an impression in the population in general, and even among health care professionals, that it is good for the heart,” said Beatriz Champagne, chair of the advocacy committee that produced the report.
- “It is not, and the evidence has increasingly shown that there is no level of alcohol consumption that is safe for health,” said Champagne, who is also executive director of the Coalition for Americas’ Health, an organization dedicated to improving health in the Americas.
- Swift criticismCritics were swift to dispute the federation’s stance, saying that it was ignoring studies that do show a small benefit to some heart conditions when a moderate amount of alcohol is consumed.