I rather drink than exercise. Exercise and alcohol drinking basically work through the same properties. They both raise your good/HDL cholesterol and lower your bad/LDL cholesterol. According to Dr. Arthur Klatsky, cardiologist and researcher at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, "They do operate on good cholesterol HDL (high density lipoproteins). It acts like Drano to clean out the pipes. It takes away bad LDL cholesterol where it may be deposited like in blood vessel walls. The higher the level of HDL, the less likely it is that a person has vascular disease. The lower the levels of HDL, vascular disease becomes more likely." But hold on - age is a huge factor. "You wouldn't advise everyone to drink," says Dr. Gronbaek. "You shouldn't even think about doing it until age 45 or 50 because the prevention of coronary heart disease is only relevant until this age for most people. There's absolutely no proof of a preventative and protective effect before age 45."

Have you added a daily drink or two to your diet to keep your heart healthy? Would you consider it?