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Posted on Oct 10, 2002, 2 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
Researchers at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute in Zeist, the Netherlands Beer effects that different types of beverages could have on the heart. Eleven healthy people drank four glasses of either beer, red wine, Dutch gin or sparkling water with their dinners for three weeks. Then they switched to another beverage in random order.
Researchers at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute in Zeist, the Netherlands Beer effects that different types of beverages could have on the heart. Eleven healthy people drank four glasses of either beer, red wine, Dutch gin or sparkling water with their dinners for three weeks. Then they switched to another beverage in random order. During the three weeks of drinking beer, study participants' vitamin B6 blood levels rose 30 percent while their homocysteine levels remained stationary. Vitamin B6 is believed to reduce the risk of heart disease, whereas homocysteine is now an emerging risk factor for heart disease. In drinking red wine or Dutch gin, homocysteine levels rose 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, which translates into an elevated heart disease risk of 10 percent to 20 percent.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Lancet, April 29, 2000
