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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		To drink or not to drink?
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:01
	Publish Date:		2017-02-08 18:00:00
	Description:		Studies have found that people who believe that alcohol is good for the heart, drink more. While this is not surprising, cardiologist Gregory Marcus of the University of California, San Francisco, says the question is – what are the real benefits of drinking? "Whereas there is some evidence that moderate consumption of alcohol might help prevent heart attacks, there was also evidence that alcohol may increase the risk for high blood pressure, it might increase the risk for heart failure. And then there is growing evidence that alcohol may increase the risk for atrial fibrillation." That is the most common abnormal heart rhythm, which may cause stroke. "There is no randomized data to demonstrate that consumption of alcohol can reduce a heart attack. All of the data has been what we call observational, and we know from previous studies that observational data can fool us." So Marcus recommends that drinkers pace themselves: no more than one drink a day for women and for men, no more than two drinks a day.
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