When a doctor orders a cholesterol test, patients are told to fast at least 12 hours before blood is draw. This means no eating or drinking for the 12 hour period, though some clinics will tell patients they can have water. Fasting is done because it allows the blood test to give the doctor an accurate depiction of what is in your blood without any factors that might alter the results and make the numbers appear higher or lower than they would otherwise be.
Now, if you made a mistake and had alcohol, such as beer or wine, during the 12 hours before your appointment, the integrity of the test is in serious jeopardy. Consuming any form of alcohol before having your cholesterol tested will cause the overall results to be wrong. This is because alcohol stimulates the liver, which in turn produces extra triglycerides.
These extra triglycerides will throw off the numbers on your cholesterol test, and in effect the final outcome of the test will be based on totally wrong information. In fact, most experts say to lay off the wine, beer, liquor and mixed drinks for 24 hours or more before a blood test is to be done.
