Margaritas: Good For The Heart?

By now you've probably heard that drinking a glass or two of red wine every week is good for your heart. But what I'm pretty sure you haven't heard is that knocking back a couple of Margaritas - or Cosmos or Appletinis - or pretty much any alcoholic drink may net you the same benefits.

According to a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology, it may well be the alcohol content of the wine - and not the other nutrients such as polyphenols - that have the real protective effects on the heart. Indeed, after measuring the impact of both red wine or other alcoholic beverages on the heart and blood vessels, researchers found the effects were nearly identical.

The hypothesis: It may simply be alochols ability to relax the cardiovascular system that is responsible for the heart healthy effects of wine - and all the other cocktails.

But here's the catch (and you knew there would be one!) : While one alcholic drink yiedls good results, knock back a second or third and the protective effects disappear. Indeed, heart rate increases, blood is pumped harder and more vigorously, but the vessels themselves are unable to expand enough to accept the increased activity, thereby reversing the beneficial effects of a single serving.

So drink up - but have just one. Your heart will be healthy - and you won't gain a ton of weight. Yes, alcohol is packed with useless calories.