People drink alcohol, for many reasons.  If you are worrying about your immune system, you should not drink any alcohol because it interferes with a variety of immune defenses and has been linked to certain kinds of infections.  If you need a drink to relax and reduce stress, technically that helps your immune system, but the experts say that the benefits do not outweigh the risks.

Drinking too much comes with its own risks, like increasing your blood pressure, triglycerides and risk of stroke, causing depression, and adding unwanted calories to your diet.  There have been several studies that suggest that moderate drinking is good for your heart. Moderate drinking can raise your good cholesterol (HDL) and reduce plaque accumulation in your arteries, as well as having a mild anti-coagulating effect, keeping blood platelets from forming together to create blood clots.  Like all studies, everything is questionable.  At melslife, we always side with living your life in balance or moderation.

Men with high blood pressure should not have more than two drinks per day, with a couple of alcohol-free days per week, while women with high blood pressure should not consume more than one drink per day, with the same number of alcohol-free days as men.  A drink is 5 ounces of wine.

All alcoholic drinks are not created equal.  Wine can provide additional benefits because wine contains phytochemicals, which include antioxidants and flavonoids, which appear to reduce the risk of heart disease.  Red wine has shown to have the most positive effects of any alcohol.