ABSTRACT
In recent years international studies have highlighted the health bene ts of moderate alcohol consumption.1 A. S. St Leger, A. L. Cochrane and F. Moore have emphasized what has been described as the ‘French Paradox’: high fat and alcohol intake has resulted in a reduced rate of heart disease among the French population.2 is was largely seen as being due to polyphenols in wine, such as resveratrol. However, the health bene ts of avonoids in stouts and dark beers have also been isolated and led University of Wisconsin researchers to reiterate the famous advertising slogan of the interwar period: ‘Guinness is good for you’.3 Claims are generally based on the antioxidant e ects of these chemical substances, said to scrub the bodily system of free radicals, mitigating the threat of blood clots and even cancer.4
