The health benefits of beer
By Henrylito D. Tacio
Regarding Henry
Friday, December 2, 2011
“BEER is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” So said American statesman Benjamin Franklin.
Happy? Certainly. But healthy as well? Maybe.
Plan your Sinulog week ahead and find out what’s in store for Sinulog 2012.
Beer is the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall (after water and tea). It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches mainly derived from cereal grains — the most common of which is malted barley, although wheat, corn and rice are also widely used.
Most beer is flavored with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, though other flavorings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included. Alcoholic beverages distilled after fermentation or fermented from non-starch sources such as grape juice (wine) or honey (mead) are not classified as beer.
Some of humanity’s earliest known writings refer to the production and distribution of beer: the Code of Hammurabi included laws regulating beer and beer parlors, and “The Hymn to Ninkasi”, a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, served as both a prayer and as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with few literate people.
Today, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies like San Miguel Corporation in the Philippines.
Nutritionists claim beer contains vitamins B and B2 (as well as B6, which is needed to make hemoglobin, the red coloring in blood) and essential minerals like calcium, potassium and phosphorus.
Dark beer is better for you than light. It contains more flavonoids, which are natural oxidants that help to protect the body from disease.
The beneficial effects of drinking alcohol have been guessed at from the earliest days of humankind.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, doctors and researchers have sought scientific evidence to understand the association between alcohol and human health.
Studies have revealed that beer can produce the same benefits as drinking wine.
Whether you prefer San Miguel, Beer na Beer, Red Horse or Colt, studies show that one drink a day for women or up to two drinks a day for men will reduce your chances of strokes, heart and vascular disease.
According to a study published in 1999’s New England Journal of Medicine, those who drank one beer a week compared to those who drank one beer a day experienced no variance in reducing stroke risks. It is said that light to moderate drinkers will decrease their chances of suffering a stroke by 20 percent.
In the United States, a researcher at the Texas Southwestern Medical Center reported that those who consume moderate amounts of beer (one to two a day at the most) have a 30 to 40 percent lower rate of coronary heart disease compared to those who don’t drink.
Unknown to many, beer is a rich source of dietary silicon, a mineral that improves bone density.
A recent study at Tufts University suggests that beer consumption can protect bone mineral density. Thinning of the leg bones is often a problem for the elderly.
“Thus far, the studies indicate a very real reduction in osteoporosis risk if you consume beer more so than from drinking wine or spirits,” notes biochemist Charles W. Bamforth, chairman of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California and author of Beer: Health and Nutrition.
Moderate consumption helped preserve the mental abilities of older women.
In a study published in the December 2001 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Dr. Guiseppe Zuccala of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart studied the mental abilities and alcohol use of nearly 16,000 men and women over the age of 65: approximately 8,700 regular drinkers and 7,000 non-drinkers.
Moderate use of alcohol was associated with a 40 percent lower risk of mental impairment.
The Italian doctor postulated that the reasons for the difference may be alcohol’s beneficial effects on blood pressure and blood flow or perhaps the slowing of arterial disease.
In 1999, a Finnish-U.S. study of beer-drinking, middle-aged men was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The report stated that an increase in beer consumption may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones. Results showed that there was a 40 percent lower risk of kidney stones in beer drinkers, but the researchers were stumped as to whether the results were due to water, alcohol or hops.
On the negative side, you may have heard of so-called “beer belly”.
In a German study, Gerard Klose said dangers begin to emerge in men measuring more than 94 centimeters around the middle, and become “really risky” at a girth of 102 centimeters.
“Too much fat,” he said, “makes diabetes, certain forms of cancer and heart disease a distinct possibility.”
It’s no secret that high levels of fat accumulated on the body is unhealthy and can cause serious illness over time.
An article in the London Times reports that fat that collects around the internal organs to form the typically male beer belly will also find its way into the bloodstream and in turn, raise your cholesterol levels. This leads to heart and vascular disease and strokes.
Again, as in all things, moderation is the key here.
“Beer,” commented Thomas Jefferson, “if drank in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.”
While beer is a wholesome drink that is made from natural ingredients, drinking in excess has been associated with an increased risk of several serious health ailments.
As one expert puts it: “Amount is everything. Moderate consumption can be relaxing, reducing stress, a factor in several health issues. Excess drinking leads to drawbacks that outweigh the benefits.”
Drinking over moderation can lead to liver damage, dangers of drunk driving, and damage to fetuses of pregnant women who are drinking, just to name a few.
By the way, beer is not only for drinking but for cooking as well. It is incomparable as a cooking tool in Western Europe. Due to the fact that alcohol has a much lower boiling temperature than water, it evaporates quickly while cooking your recipe and thereby only leaves the characteristic taste of the beer.
Some ways to use beer in cooking are as follows: marinades for beef (both tenderizes and adds flavor), as a substitute for water in different soups and stocks, used in batters for fried food, added to gravies to spice up the taste, and as a cooking base/liquid for steaming foods like sausages, shellfish and clams.
Cheers! Let’s drink to that!
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on December 03, 2011.
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