FOODS TO PREVENT HEART ATTACKS

Report #6804 5/10/96

A recent study presented at the Experimental biology Meetings in Washington, D.C. shows that you can reduce your chances of suffering a heart attack by drinking dark beer and tea and red wine and grape juice.

Two events lead to heart attacks. First fatty plaques are laid down in arteries to obstruct the flow of blood partially, then a clot forms to obstruct the flow of blood completely, causing a heart attack. Beer, tea and wine do not affect plaque formation. They cause tiny blood cells called platelets to stick together and form clots.

John Folts of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown that red wine and red grape juice prevent clotting and heart attacks in dogs, while white grape juice does not. In other experiments, he demonstrated that dark colored Guinness Extra Stout prevented clotting and heart attacks in dogs, while light-colored Heiniken did not. Next, he showed that dark tea also prevents clotting, while coffee does not. He reasoned that something in red wine, red grape juice, dark beer and dark tea prevents clots, while that color factor was not in high enough concentrations to prevent clots in white grape juice, white wine and white beer. He showed that pigmented antioxidants called bioflavinoids are the factors that prevent clotting and heart attacks. Many different foods and drinks may help to prevent clotting: dark beer, red wine, red grape juice, tea and omega-3 fish oils, but the best way to prevent heart attacks is to be on a low-fat, high-fiber diet.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News