A glass of wine could help to prevent a stroke, according to science

In news that is likely to be music to the ears of booze lovers everywhere, it’s been claimed that a glass of wine a day could help to prevent the most common type of stroke.

The sensational claim was established after a study of 20,000 adults found that drinking up to three units of alcohol a day could help to prevent an ischaemic stroke, where the blood supply is stopped by a clot, accounting for 85 percent of all strokes.

Unsurprisingly, it’s also a case of taking everything in moderation. The research by the University of Cambridge and the Karolina Institutet also found that heavy drinking is likely to increase the likelihood of strokes.

However, light drinking, which equates to a small glass of wine – was found to cut the chance of a ischaemic stroke by ten percent.

But the study also found that the boozy protection only applies to ischaemic strokes – and did not protect against less common strokes such as intracerebral and subarachnoid haemorrhages.

The study, which was published in medical journal BMC, involved an extensive analysis of 25 studies including data from the Cohort of Swedish Men and the Swedish Mammography Cohort, which featured 21,000 stroke victims.

Describing the findings, lead author Dr Susanna Larsson said: ‘Whether light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, generally defined as one to two drinks per day, is protective against cardiovascular disease remains a controversial topic.

‘Alcohol consumption in moderation has been associated with increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, improved insulin sensitivity, and decreased levels of fibrinogen and inflammatory markers.’

And with that, that glass we have with our dinner every night seems totally justified. Cheers!