DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH:  GOOD NEWS ABOUT BEER!

Jennifer Matrazzo

 Beer enthusiasts may have ample reason to drink to their health:  Brauvelt International (Volume 19, No. 2, April 2001, pp.136-140) reports several new studies suggesting that moderate consumption of beer helps curtail cardiovascular disease.  While research comparing beer, wine and liquor indicates that alcohol aids in the prevention of heart disease, further studies indicate that the malt, yeast and hops in beer introduce compounds that also reduce risks of heart disease.

 Beer drinkers have a nutritional advantage over wine and liquor drinkers in that beer contains several vitamins.  Malting procedures increase the concentration of vitamins in the grain.  Stable enough to withstand the rigors of the brewing process, these vitamins are present in the beer.  Yeast also contribute to the vitamin content of beer.  Many of the vitamins found in beer, namely B6, B12, and folate, assist in deterring cardiovascular disease.

 Do the folate and B-vitamins in beer reduce the possibility of heart disease?  Doctors currently correlate high blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine with greater threat of heart disease.  They believe folate and B-vitamin-rich diets reduce the presence of the amino acid in the blood.  This prompted one team of researchers to investigate the relationship between beer consumption and homocysteine levels.  Their analysis reports lower homocysteine levels in beer drinkers and attributes the effect to folate.

 Vitamins are not the only health benefit of beer.  Compounds commonly found in malt and hops load beer with antioxidants, which are believed to minimize risk of both cardiovascular disease and cancer.  While it has not yet been determined if humans absorb the antioxidants from hops at a level beneficial to health, researchers have observed that humans absorb 100% of the malt-derived antioxidant ferulic acid.  (Brewer’s note:  ferulic acid is also utilized by our special Hefeweizen yeast to produce the beer’s clove character.)

 Enough evidence exists to support the belief that moderate consumption of alcohol decreases risks of cardiovascular disease.  Beer, rich in vitamins and antioxidants, may be the healthiest of alcoholic beverages to select.  Unfortunately, many people regard beer drinking as  the badge of a poor lifestyle, rather than a supplement to healthy living.  This underestimation may change as researchers continue to explore the nutritional value of beer.

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