But research shows that beer too can be good for your health, moderation being the key, with its benefits ranging from warding off dental cavities and preventing harmful carcinogens to giving you gleaming locks.
Professor Charles Bamforth, of the University of California, Davis, and author of Beer, Health and Nutrition, said the belief that wine was somehow healthier than beer was a “myth” and that moderation was the key, not your choice of tipple.
The study, which was published in the Nutrition Journal, looked at “17 healthy, non smoking men” and measured their heart health after drinking 400ml of beer finding that blood flow to the heart improved within a few hours.
The study found that non-alcoholic beer did not provide the same benefit.
Women who drank moderate levels of beer were 22% less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, following two studies of 238,131 women conducted over three decades.
While those who drank two to four beers a week had a 31% decreased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared to women who never drank beer.
Wash your hair in beer, says supermodel
If it’s good enough for Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson, it’s good enough for me.
The old-fashioned treatment apparently works by leaving a residue of hops and barley in hair as it dries giving it a coating which is supposed to give hair more body and weight.
Its old fermentation rooms boasts seven 13-foot long spa-like baths in which guests can immerse themselves in 12,000 litres of warm water enriched with 300 litres of Biergeläger.
The brewery claims that bathing in beer has enormous health benefits from improving circulation, while the yeast is apparently good for the skin.
Created by a team of food scientists at Vampt, a Canadian beverage company, Lean Machine is a low-alcohol, protein-packed “fit beer” which is only 77 calories and just 0.5% abv.
By lowering the level of alcohol by volume and adding salt, they found that the manipulated beer actually hydrated their sample of athletes better than traditional ale.
It is reportedly enriched with nutrients, antioxidants and electrolytes to help replenish the body after a good workout.
According to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, the light green leaves of hops, found on the flowers that give beer its bitterness, contain antioxidants that could help fight dental diseases such as cavities and gum disease.
The study was conducted by researchers at Sapporo Medical University – the brewery also has its origins in the capital city of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost isle – and concluded that the compound, known as humulone and found in the hops used to make beer, was effective in curbing the respiratory syncytial (RS) virus.
The same virus also can cause bronchitis and pneumonia in children.
So strong is his endorsement of the beverage that he believes if Jesus was alive today he would have turned water into beer rather than wine.
Father Miller is also a supporter of Theology on Tap – a program of lectures sponsored by a number of Catholic dioceses, which sees ministers take the church into bars, pubs and restaurants, where Miller says some of the best pastoral care can be given to those who would not be likely to “set foot in a church.”
A study concluded that letting meat sit in beer for a few hours can reduce levels of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been linked to colorectal cancer.
The study was conducted by a team at the Universidade do Porto and its finding published in the ACS’s Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
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