Update June 2016, nice piece from Bill Lagakos: http://caloriesproper.com/non-sequiter-nutrition-iv-in-vino-veritas/
Recently spent a little time checking alcohol out(!), based on a suggestion by Gearoid O’Laoi re the “high HDL bad” mystery – and I found the following little gem referring to the more reasonable application of C2H5OH ( Moderate Alcohol Study ) – a mere 4 years, and ~38% reduction in Cardio Outcomes, and a noisy, non-statistically significant ~30% reduction in all cause mortality? Sounds similar to Statin PRIMARY prevention effects, but via a much more enjoyable route! (note: secondary prevention is a different matter in fairness, when the system is deranged, and lowering the factors like lipids/inflammation/thrombosis is key – statins by all means in this case I guess, with dramatic lifestyle changes also!)
Anyway, I also found good discussions around alcohol use in general, and the following is a good summary: Ethanol and CVD
Background:
…interesting conversations recently re: the predictive power of HDLc for CVD, and I posted a recent piece illustrating the reality of what’s turning up at the hospitals: http://www.thefatemperor.com/blog/2014/11/12/and-hdl-now-thats-a-tad-more-useful
I was digging a little more, and high HDLc by all means can make for higher risk in circumstances – but which? One thought was around EXCESSIVE alcohol consumption driving high HDL and also negative outcomes: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2862791 or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2862791
