A little alcohol good to your health, study says

Moderate drinking may be good for your health -- better, in fact, than not drinking at all, according to a trio of studies presented Sunday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Chicago. Not only did male coronary bypass patients fare better with a little alcohol, but women's health was also boosted by a cocktail now and then.

Still, while the studies are "reassuring," they should not be seen as "a cause for action or change of patterns," said Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist and director of the Women's Heart Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "We do have to be cautious. This is not [shown to be] a cause-and-effect relationship.", BusinessWeek reports.

Researchers from the University of Rome found heart bypass patients who had two drinks a day following the surgery subsequently needed fewer heart procedures compared to those who remained teetotal.

'The benefit of light amounts of alcohol consumption has been documented in healthy individuals, but our analysis showed a benefit from light alcohol intake in post-coronary bypass patients,' said study author D. Umberto Benedetto, of the University of Rome La Sapienza, Daily Mail informs.