Does a drink a day keep heart attacks away? Over the past 20 years, numerous studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption, say, one or two beers, glasses of wine or cocktails daily helps to prevent coronary heart disease. Last week a report in the New England Journal of Medicine added strong new evidence in support of that theory. More important, the work provided the first solid induction (归纳) of how alcohol works to protect the heart.
In the study, researchers from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School compared the drinking habits of 340 men and women who had suffered recent heart attack with those of healthy people of the same age and sex. The scientists found that people who sip one to three drinks a day are about half as likely to suffer heart attacks as nondrinkers are. The apparent source of the protection: those who drank alcohol had higher blood levels of high density lipoproteins, the so-called good cholesterol, which is known to prevent heart disease.
As evidence has mounted, some doctors have begun recommending a daily drink for patients of heart diseases. But most physicians are not ready to recommend a regular happy hour for everyone. The risks of teetotalling (绝对戒酒) are nothing compared with the dangers of too much alcohol, including high blood pressure, strokes and liver troubles—not to mention violent behaviour and traffic accidents. Moreover, some studies suggest that even moderate drinking may increase the incidence of breast and colon cancer. Until there is evidence that the benefits of a daily dose of alcohol outweigh the risks, most people won’t be able to take a doctor’s prescription to the neighbourhood bar or liquor store.
The medical article quoted in the first paragraph indicates .
A. the way in which alcohol can help the heart
B. how a couple of cocktails daily can stop heart problems
C. why alcoholic drinks are dangerous to one’s health
that reports on the advantages of alcohol were misled
Experiments showed that nondrinkers had __________.
A. larger amounts of good cholesterol B. smaller amounts of good cholesterol
C. higher blood pressure D. lower blood pressure
According to the passage, moderate drinking .
A. is recommended by most doctors for heart patients
B. should be allowed on prescription
C. is still not medically advisable
D. is not related to liver problems
The main theme of this passage is .
A. the change in recent drinking habits
B. the connection between cancer and alcohol
C. whether moderate drinkers outlive nondrinkers
D. whether alcohol may be good for one’s health