The Beer Truth

Beer and nutrition might appear to be two unrelated terms. Right.

We don't usually see those words together, but the truth is that perhaps, the drink called beer is a bit misunderstood. It may actually be good for you when consumed in very moderate amounts.

Beer has been brewed for just about as long as humans have been cultivating crops and is actually made with some very healthy ingredients. Those ingredients are hops, brewer's yeast, barley and malt. There are different styles of beer and each style has a distinctive flavor and color.There are beers with much higher or lower levels alcohol, carbohydrates, and protein.

The first question on my mind concerns how beer compares to other alcoholic drinks like red wine or distilled spirits. The comparison is not that easy to make. In the first place, the main beneficial element that was discovered in red wine is resveratrol, a powerful anti-oxidant. Beer doesn't contain any resveratrol. But the presence of folate in beer helps lower the risk of heart disease when consumed in moderation. Beer also reduces blood clots and it has been shown to improve mental function in women as well as increasing bone density

It might come as a surprise to those that associate beer drinking with being overweight but there isn't a trace of fat in beer.

But if there's no fat, then where does the beer belly come from? Turns out it has less to do with drinking a beer and more about the customs of beer drinking. Think about bar foods. It's usually salty, greasy, fat laden stuff, right? Plus, drinking a few beers can make even the most energetic of us a bit lethargic. It's no surprise that inactivity can add to an expanding waistline. But a beer, all by itself, won't significantly affect your weight one way or anothersome studies have shown that beer helps to reduce triglycerides and LDL (LDL is the bad sort of cholesterol), problems that are often associated with obesity.

If beer has no fat and moderate consumption doesn't contribute to weight gain, then what's light about "light" beers? Are they better for you? Actually, not necessarily. There's nothing significantly different between light and regular beers except a slightly lower calorie count. If you're trying to lose weight and feel compelled to have a beer, the light beer would be your choice

Of course that doesn't mean that if one beer is good, three or four must be better. That isn't true. Drinking more than one beer or any alcoholic beverage per day can put too much alcohol in your system and that isn't good for you. Heavy drinking has been associated with several health problems, so moderation is definitely the key with drinking beer. The studies also point to one beer per day as being beneficial, not drinking all seven beers in one day per week. That type of binge drinking will overload you system with alcohol too.

The following people should not drink beer, or should speak with their doctor before drinking beer or other alcoholic beverages:

* Pregnant or breast-feeding women should not drink beer. Even small amounts of alcohol can damage a developing fetus.

* People with alcoholism or drug addictions should not drink beer.

* Young people.

* People with liver, pancreatic diseases, or really, any type of chronic disease should speak with their doctor.

* People with gout should avoid beer. Gout is very painful and is triggered by alcohol.

* Diabetics should speak with their doctor.

* People taking any type of medications should speak with their doctor. This includes over-the-counter medications

So, the bottom line is that Several beers each day is definitely bad for health. The key to health with beer drinking is to limit your consumption to one beer every alternate day.

Cheers!

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