London Restaurant News

Beer is Good For You, Science!

Gary Blake
LondonEats.com

Wednesday, July 05, 2000

Beer could be better for your heart than red wine or spirits, scientists have said.

Beer is Good For You, Science!

Mmmm Beer

Moderate alcohol consumption affects many processes in the body, one of which is the significant increase in HDL cholesterol -- the good cholesterol.

Dr. Henk Hendriks

Scientists have long known that red wine helped to protect against heart disease. Now Dutch researchers believe beer -- taken in moderation -- may be of benefit too.

For beer contains vitamin B6 which prevents the build-up in the body of a chemical called homocysteine, which is thought to be linked to an increase in the risk of heart disease.

Dr Henk Hendriks and colleagues from the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute studied 111 healthy men who each drank beer, red wine, spirits and water with their dinner for three weeks.

The researchers discovered that homocysteine levels did not increase after beer consumption but rose after the men drank wine and spirits. The researchers, whose findings were published in the Lancet medical magazine on Friday, found that beer drinkers had a 30 percent increase of vitamin B6 in their blood plasma.

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