A UPI story originating from Germany is indicating that a new German study found that xanthohumol, which is in hops, is good at fighting cancer. Specifcially, xanthohumol “inhibits a family of enzymes that can trigger the cancer process, as well as help the body detoxify carcinogens.” It appears that this new study confirms the results of a study at Oregon State University, which I covered last year. Research indicates xanthohumol has more and stronger antioxidants then vitamin E and it may even help in the fight against bad cholesterol.
“It’s very healthy. I think the ingredients in the beer are very good,” Werner Back of Brewing Technology at the Technical University of Munich.
The average beer doesn’t contain enough xanthohumol to make drinking beer an effective method for fighting cancer, though there are German beers with higher levels of xanthohumol. Though perhaps hop research could be directed toward increasing the amount of xanthohumol in hop varieties?