There’s apparently more good news for those of us who like to imbibe. We already knew that red wine has been shown to improve your heart health. Now a drink or two a day may also help you breathe easier. Lung function seems to improve – even for smokers – for people who partake in moderate regular drinking.
“This is the biggest study that’s ever looked at the possible protective effect of alcohol involving the lung,” said study author Dr. Stanton T. Siu, chief of pulmonary medicine at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Oakland, California.
Dr Sui goes on to say that he found that “if you drank less than two glasses of alcohol that you had much less likelihood of developing obstructive airways disease, which includes asthma and emphysema.”
He goes on to reveal some surprising news.
“You do seem to get some benefit if you drink three to five drinks per day,” added Siu.
“But it wasn’t as good if you drank just a little. And if you drank six or more, it actually had a bad effect. It made your lung function worse.”
Siu said light drinking’s protective effect roughly translates to a 20 percent reduction in the risk for developing lung disease.
“There was a little more of a positive impact for women,” Siu said, “but not a huge difference. And, in fact, when we looked at three to five drinks per day, then the men did better than the women.”
