Good News Hasselhoff: Heavy Drinking is 'Good for You'

Gotta love shit like this -- Turns out a new Spanish research study of more than 15,500 men and 26,000 women, published in the journal Heart, found that alcohol consumption reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, with the benefits increasing for those who imbibe large quantities of alcohol.
Drink up and go get yourself a burger.

(Examiner.com) The lifetime drinking habits of men and women between the ages of 29 and 69 were examined and the subjects were followed for 10 years. The study was completed in Spain, a country with relatively high rates of alcohol consumption and low rates of coronary heart disease. It is important to note that researchers did eliminate those who became to ill to continue with the study from the final statistics.

Looking good David.

Study participants were divided into six categories, ranging from those who never have drank alcohol to those consuming greater than 90 grams of alcohol per day, equal to approximately 8 bottles or 28 pints of lager per week. The type of alcohol comsumed did not seem to have an effect. Those who drank little, such as the equivalent of slightly less than a shot of spirits per day, showed a 35% decrease in the risk of developing coronary heart disease, and those who drank the equivalent of three to more than eleven shots per day showed a 50% decrease.

The benefits of alcohol consumption were greater for men than women. Women process alcohol differently than men and have fewer heart issues; female hormones protect against heart disease in younger women. Although the exact mechanism is not known, alcohol is known to increase the amount of high-density lipoproteins, more commonly known as HDL or "good cholesterol", which helps stop "bad cholesterol" (LDL) from building up in arteries.