Happy happy joy joy news for those among us who exercise and enjoy a frosty amber/brown beverage* on a somewhat regular basis:

Staying Active and Drinking Moderately Is Key to a Long Life

Woot! Hooray! Woot woot!

January 11, 2008 — Both physical activity and a moderate alcohol intake are important to lower the risk of fatal ischemic heart disease (IHD) and all-cause mortality, a new study shows.

The study, published online in the European Heart Journal on January 9, 2008, shows that people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol and are physically active have a lower risk of death from heart disease and other causes than people who don’t drink at all, and that people who neither drink alcohol nor exercise have a 30% to 49% higher risk of heart disease than those who either drink, exercise, or do both.

I will post about it soon, but as part of my new healthy approach, I decided to get a physical.

Based on results from a few years ago, I expected to find high cholesterol and high blood pressure on the list of what ails me. Happily, my cholesterol came in under the high level and I have now twice received comments from nurses on how good my blood pressure has been.

Given that I was drinking probably a little more than was good for me in the past, I can only imagine that there’s been a rapid improvement from reducing beer consumption and greatly increasing my physical activity. Too bad I didn’t have a physical before deciding on a change, as I am curious just how rapidly the body can begin to remedy things when given the impetus to do so.

If nothing else, we can all tell our teetotaling friends, athletic or not, that they are killing themselves.

For the love of God, man, have a beer!

Do you want to die?!

* Try as I might, I just can’t consider the pale yellow yuckiness of Bud, Coors, or other domestic swill to be beer. Sorry. You’re welcome to it - look at it this way, that’s more leftover for you!