Cooking Myths Debunked

Myth: Drinking Alcohol Every Day Is Good for You

True. In moderation. You’ve heard that wine protects against heart disease. But in reality, any alcoholic drink helps raise HDL (good cholesterol), since it’s the alcohol―not wine in particular―that does it. That means beer and spirits are good, too, says R. Curtis Ellison, M.D., a professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. But don’t drink yourself under the table just yet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines moderate drinking for women as just one drink a day (5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1½ ounces of 80-proof spirits), which is enough to keep blood platelets loose and cut down on clogged arteries.