No amount of alcohol is healthy for your heart, including a glass of red wine, and Kiwis should always choose to drink less, the Heart Foundation has suggested in new advice.
The charity's new position statement, released today, is based on the latest published research and international guidelines.
Heart Foundation medical director Dr Gerry Devlin said: "No matter where you are on the scale of alcohol consumption, less is better."
Devlin continued: "We're saying if you don’t drink alcohol — don't start. If you do drink alcohol — it's better to drink less. You can reduce your drinking over time."
Commonly-held beliefs, like that drinking red wine is good for the heart, don't have a basis in scientific evidence, according to the foundation.
"There is now a greater body of evidence that clearly shows any type or amount of alcohol increases the risk of heart disease."
Devlin said the new position statement "provides greater certainty about the effect of alcohol" and that it indicates "there is no safe level or protective effect from alcohol".
"There are risks for your heart associated with drinking alcohol and the latest evidence shows an increased risk of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke," he said.
"Alcohol also increases the risk of a range of heart conditions, such as atrial fibrillation and haemorrhagic stroke, and may increase the risk of heart failure."
The foundation is asking Kiwis to drink less with a couple of tips:
- Drink more slowly
- Have alcohol-free weeks and weekends "wherever you can"
- Choose alcohol-free activities and make your "usual activities" alcohol-free
- For every drink of alcohol, have a drink of water or soda water
- Low and zero-alcohol products "may help some people to drink less alcohol if they are consumed in place of full-strength drinks."
According to the Heart Foundation, there is the "potential for significant health gains with alcohol reduction", as 20% of adults in New Zealand live with high blood pressure.
"For example, if you have elevated blood pressure, reducing alcohol consumption is likely to impact favourably on blood pressure readings," Devlin said.
"If you suffer from atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder, reducing alcohol is likely to decrease symptomatic episodes.
"The evidence is clear that every drink counts. It's also clear that it's never too late to make changes. Any reduction in alcohol use can be beneficial."
There is strong evidence that alcohol increases the risk of high blood pressure, the foundation said: "For each 10g increase of pure alcohol per day (1 standard drink), the risk of high blood pressure increases by 6%."
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