Alcohol might improve heart health by reducing stress

Plus more health news | Email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Health Matters]( [Drinking alcohol eases the brain’s stress levels]( By Haley Weiss Health Reporter If you read health news regularly, you’ll quickly start to notice that there’s a lot of research about what drinking alcohol does to the body. It’s not because researchers are trying to put together a definitive list of pros and cons for drinking, though it can sometimes feel that way. Often, it’s simply that alcohol’s popularity makes it a stellar entry point for learning more about the biological processes it impacts. That’s the case in a new study out this week that aims to determine why alcohol has long been linked to better heart health. A team at Massachusetts General Hospital used a massive database to collect information about 50,000 casual drinkers. What they found, in part by looking at some participants’ brain scans, was that even while sober, people who drink a light-to-moderate amount had subdued activity in the amygdala, the region of the brain responsible for sending out stress signals. They also had a lower risk of cardiovascular issues. For people with a history of anxiety, the decrease in cardiovascular risk was doubled. Still, there are better ways than alcohol to take advantage of this stress-reducing pathway. Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, a study author and co-director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, hopes to find simpler and safer pharmacological options to reduce activity in the amygdala. For an all-natural option, consider exercise. It's more difficult than drinking a beer, but it benefits the heart using the same mechanism. [READ MORE]( Share This Story What Else to Read [Few Rehab Centers for Teens Offer Recommended Medicine]( By Carla K. Johnson/AP Only 1 in 4 residential treatment centers for teens offers buprenorphine, according to a study. [Read More »]( [The Revolutionary Power of Girl Talk]( By Mattie Kahn How conversations between women shaped America's feminist movements. [Read More »]( [8 Ways to Read More Books—And Why You Should]( By Angela Haupt Start small, track your books, experiment with different formats, and seek out community. [Read More »]( [Coping With the Side Effects of Kidney-Cancer Treatment]( By Markham Heid Many patients experience hypertension, diarrhea, and loss of kidney function. [Read More »]( [Weight Bias Is a Problem in Health Care. Here’s What Doctors Can Do]( By Elizabeth Millard Smart ways to address potential bias. [Read More »]( ONE LAST READ [Surviving a lightning strike]( People living in the U.S. have a 1 in 19,000 chance of being struck by lighting in their lifetime, but what happens afterward? Of the four people struck by lightning last year at a park across from the White House, Amber Escudero-Kontostathis was the only survivor. In a new Washington Post article, she describes what it’s like to recover from having millions of volts course through her body. [Read More »]( --------------------------------------------------------------- If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, [click here](. Today's newsletter was written by Haley Weiss and Alice Park, and edited by Angela Haupt. [Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.]( [Subscribe to TIME]( TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via [Facebook]( | [Twitter]( | [Newsletters]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS]( TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508 Questions? Contact health@time.com Copyright © 2023 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.