Are Flavonoids the Key?
Valentine Fuster, MD, PhD, director of the cardiovascular institute at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, says he is not convinced that flavonoids add anything to the already well-known heart protective effect of alcohol. “We know alcohol works,” he tells WebMD. In order to prove that flavonoids add anything to the alcohol benefit, human studies are needed. Also, Fuster, who was not involved in the study but who has studied the relationship between alcohol and reduced risk for heart disease, says all alcohol studies should be approached with caution. “There is always the risk that the data will be misinterpreted and people will consume too much. Any more than two drinks a day is too much.” For those who are dark beer drinkers — or drinkers of red wine or purple grape juice — Folts says they can gain the maximum heart benefit by “drinking these beverages with meals” so that they can fight the increase in free radicals that occurs when the body begins to metabolize food. Free radi
