Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

Friday, July 22, 2011

A Beer Basket Really Can Be Good For Your Health


Often times it is difficult to find just the right gift for someone. If you have friends that drink beer then a beer basket or a beer related gift may be a fun and light-hearted gift to give.

A beer basket rarely comes with just beer in it, more often than not the beer is accompanied by some tasty snacks, just right for a cozy night in.

A beer basket don't even need to have any beer actually in them. It could hold beer related gifts such as an ice bucket for chilling the beer, a sturdy opener, a beer mug and treats such as nuts, crisps and savouries. You could include a gift certificate in the beer basket so that the recipient could purchase their own beer.

Beer baskets can be bought locally or from the internet. How great it is to be able to shop on the internet. I purchased a new mattress just the other day and it would probably have taken me a whole day out in the cold wandering round bed shops weighing up prices and specifications, if I had done it locally. On the internet you can compare prices for any item at the click of a button, in the warmth of your own home and even have a brew while you're doing it. Plus many places give free delivery.

If you have the time and want to make your beer basket extra special you could put one together yourself. Plastic wrap, baskets and bows to finish them off with are all readily available. You don't even have to use a beer basket you could use a home brew bucket and include a few home brew items in it as well. the basket/bucket it may be nice to add some speciality beers for your friend to try.

Beer has been around for thousands of years, apparently pre-historic man learned to make beer from grains before he learnt to make bread (that sounds about right!) Allegedly Noah had a little stock of the amber nectar in his arc and in ancient Babylon clay tables had recipes for beer on the dating back to 4300BC.

Beer is not bad for your health, it's the amount of it that people drink that is. Research has show that beer can help in reducing stress and the risk of heart disease if drunk in moderation. Due to the malted barley beer is a good source of fibre. If you consume alcohol moderately, research has shown that this can assist in improving your memory obviously if you drink too much the opposite applies and you brain cells can be destroyed.

Another old wives tale is that beer makes you fat - So does anything if you consume enough of it, except perhaps lettuce! What about all those beer bellies I hear you ask. They are caused by drinking too much of it. If beer is drunk in moderation there should be no problems.

If you really don't want to purchase your friends the 'demon drink' by way of beer baskets then there are plenty of beer related gifts that you can consider instead such as key chains, mirrors, glasses, bottle openers and even wallets.

T-shirts and cap with the logo of the person's favourite beer are quite popular although you can get almost any item of clothing with logos on.




Jayne Waldorf has been an internet marketer for over three years. She lives in England with her husband and has two grown up sons.

For more information and to order great beer baskets visit the Waldorf Christmas website today.





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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Is Organic Beer Better For Your Health?


When it comes to beer drinkers, it might appear that they aren't thinking about their health when they have their favorite beer in hand. But things really aren't that way, you know that if you enjoy an occasional beer. The trend is to eat healthier and that's everywhere - including Beer. With the new beers on the market, everyone seems to be asking, "is organic beer better for your health?". We'll try to uncover that mystery today.

Organic beer is high in Vitamin B6, so in that way, you certainly can benefit from organic beer, when consumed in moderation, such as on average one (or the most two) beers a day. Of course, there are non-alcoholic beverages made and they are considered healthier than those that aren't and those are alcoholic. But that defies the whole point of beer for many, right? I understand.

Before talking about the health benefits or ingredients or beer, let's take a look at public perception on beer. Where do you find these anyway? Depending on what part of the country you are in, there are probably several brands of beer to consider and many of them are made by microbreweries. A Google search will tell you a lot. Or ask your local grocery store guy. Organic beers might cost a few dollars more than the mass-produced beers, but some people think the flavors of beer is much better, regardless of their health benefit. In addition, it is better for the environment, so most people don't mind spending a few dollars more, but that doesn't totally answer the question.

Organic beers are defined by the ingredients they contain which are grown without pesticides, including organically-grown barley, hops, coffee beans or apples, just to name a few of the ingredients you are likely to find in microbrewery brews. When seeking the answer to the question "is organic beer better for your health?" the answer is yes. In fact, a study done in 2004 on the mass-produced beers showed 30 different pesticides in 45 samples.

Side effects of common pesticides used on hops, were studied on rats in the 1990s. Symptoms included higher cholesterol, kidney and liver problems, loss of appetite and anemia, when exposed to various doses. When you consider this is just one of the pesticides that might be used on grains grown to manufacture mass-produced beer, the answer to the question becomes clearer. If you use these health concerns as a basis for the question- "is beer better for your health?" -"yes" would be the answer by those aware of what pesticides can do to your health and the environment. There are estimates by Cornell University researchers that pesticides kill 67 million birds and up to 14 million fish each year in the United States. They certainly can't be a very good thing for human beings either.

In addition to organic beers, there are organic wines and spirits that are becoming popular. Many of the organic beers in the United States are made in small microbreweries, with ingredients grown on small organic U.S. farms. There are some organic ingredients that are grown other places and imported for some organic beers because most organic hops come from New Zealand and Germany, but there are increasingly more organic beers that feature U.S.-grown organic hops.

Organically-grown grains that are used in beer are better for your health than the agribusiness, mass-produced products that are not organic. For those that are wondering the answer to the question, "is beer better for your health?" organic beer is better for your health and better for the environment, in addition to being more supportive of small organic farmers.




Bison Brew is the leading organic beer company with distribution around the United States. They have a large selection of Organic Craft Beers ranging from India Pale, Belgian Ale and Chocolate Stout.



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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Origin of Beer and Its Ingredients With Information on Health Effects


Beer is one of the oldest and most consumed alcoholic beverage produced by brewing and fermentation of starches derived from cereals. Wheat,corn,rice and malted barley are commonly used for brewing the beer. While brewing beer sometimes herbs or fruits are also be added to give flavor and color to beer. Alcoholic beverages which are fermented from non-starch sources such as grape juice(wine) or mead are not classified as beer.

History of beer

Beer is recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and is one of the oldest beverages approximately dating back to the 6th century B.C. European monasteries also started making and selling beer by the end of 7th century A.D. During the industrial revolution production of the beer moved from domestic manufacturing to industrial manufacturing. Beer like beverages were independently invented through out the various cultures mainly because any substance containing carbohydrates like sugar or starch can easily undergo fermentation. During the thirteen century making the beer and selling beverages from home was a mean of supplementing family income.

Ingredients

The basic ingredients of beer are water, starch and yeast. Sometimes secondary starch sources are used such as wheat, rice and sugar, these sources are used as low cost substitute for malted barley.

Water is very important to beer because minerals in water influence the character of beer made from it that is the reason beer is composed mostly of water. Water of different regions are different in mineral components as a result quality of beer in one region is different from quality of beer in another region. Hence, it is argued that minerals of water have influence on quality of beer.

Fermentable in the beer is provided by the starch source of the beer and hence, it is the key determinant of the character of beer. Malted grain is the most common starch source used in beer, malted grain produces enzymes that converts starches in grain into fermentable sugar. Colour of beer will depend upon the colour of malted grains, that means darker the grains darker will be the beer. For flavouring and preserving the beer flower of hop vine is used. Hop is also used to balance the sweetness of malted grains, as it contributes to bitterness of beer.

Sugar extracted from grains is metabolized by microorganism known as yeast, it is the yeast only who is responsible for fermentation in beer. Yeast not only ferment beer but also influence the character and flavour of beer. Sugar extracted from grains produces carbon dioxide and alcohol which turns wort into beer. Common method of categorizing beer is from the yeast which is used in fermentation process. Top fermented yeast is used to brewed the ales. The important distinction between ale and lagers is that ale is fermented at higher temperature due to which ale ferment more quickly then lagers. Real Ale is the natural product which is left inside container after brewing to get mature and then it is went through secondary fermentation process which leads to formation of CO2 which in turn increases the pressure in flask which forces it out of container and then it is being poured.

Serving

Common method of serving the draught beer is from a pressurised keg used in bars around the world. The keg is pressurised with carbon dioxide which drives the beer out from the tap of keg. While bottling the beer mostly beer is filtered to make it yeast free. Now a days beer is mostly sold in cans. It is advisable to preserve the beer in cans because it protects the beer from light and also from leakage. Taste of beer also depends on the temperature of beer at which it is served, some like chilled beer and some like beer preserved at room temperature and also some add ice to it to make it more chilled.

Health effects

It is said that moderate consumption of alcohol reduces risk level of cardiac diseases. Beer is also referred as "liquid bread" , beer contains significant amount of nutrients because it is said that brewer's yeast is rich source of nutrients. A study found that beer which has low quantity of alcohol may posses the anti-cancer properties and also reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is consider that overeating and lack of proper exercise is a result of beer belly rather then product itself.

There is conclusive evidence that heavy consumption of alcohol can lead to liver problems and other health related problems, however moderate consumption of alcohol or beer has quite a few many benefits as it is full of nutrients and also beer is mostly composed of water which is source of many minerals.




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