I know Stan already posted this, but it was too good not to talk about again. Story so nice we mentioned it twice. The Publican, a magazine for the British pub trade, reported on a recent conference in Brussels that focused on the health benefits of beer. As if great taste wasn’t enough, many individual health benefits have been reported over the last few years with the increased research, especially in the EU, on beer and health. But the conference brought all the disparate research together and presented a new, more complete, picture of health benefits that moderate beer drinking brings to the table. These have been ignored and will doubtless continue to be ignored by the American press because in this country scientific research isn’t enough to overcome prejudice and puritanism. Still, it’s great to know that out in other parts of the civlized world, beer is being recognized as not being the evil the neo-prohibitionists would have us believe it is.
From the Publican article:
Many of the health benefits of moderate beer drinking are unique to beer because of its ingredients such as hops and malted barley. Of all the alcoholic drinks on the market beer is also relatively low in alcoholic strength.
Chairman Professor Jonathan Powell of the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research in Cambridge said: “The media and public tend to focus on wine. However, the emerging evidence is the real benefits are related to the alcohol itself and so the positive story also relates to other drinks such as beer.
“Drinks such as beer have other nutrients and properties that can also be beneficial in terms of health. This conference is about redressing the balance.”
The nine health benefits of moderate beer drinking hightlighted at the conference:
- Reduces the risk of heart disease
- Helps keep blood pressure down and reduce the risk of stroke
- Benefits the immune system meaning healthy adults are less prone to get infections
- Has anti-inflammatory effects which contributes to heart health
- Could play a role in the battle against osteoporosis as it …
- Improves bone mineral density which contributes to healthy bones
- Helps fight cancer because of compounds in hops called flavinoids
- Decreases the risk of dementia due to its beneficial effect on preserving brain function in old age
- Can protect against type II diabetes