10 Health Benefits of Drinking Beer

In no way is this post a green signal for you to neck 6 bottles of beer and get wasted every weekend. You’re probably well aware of the consequences to that. But if moderation is your mantra, I might have some good news for you.

Contrary to what is widely believed, drinking beer does have certain benefits (No, not the upgraded dance moves or the chat-up lines y’all come up with). I am talking about how your health can benefit from moderate drinking.

But, hey! The non-drinkers are definitely not being suggested to start drinking for any of the reasons below because the risks that come along with it still outweigh the benefits. But if you like a drink every now and then, you might find a reason to toast to your health.

Here are a few health benefits hiding in your pint which might make you get up to make yourself a drink tonight.

Cheers!

1. Better Digestion

   

                    Source: https://www.foxadhd.com/

Beer is known to contain soluble fibers which help in better digestion, good for cleaning out the digestive tract and for general health as well.

Read more: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/alcohol-full-story/

2. Lesser Risk of Kidney Stones

   

   A research led by Dr. T. Hirvonen has shown that beer consumption was inversely associated with risk of developing kidney stones; each bottle of beer consumed per day was estimated to reduce risk by 40%. Excretion of calcium might be increased due to the alcohol in this case.

Read more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10412964

3. One Drink a Day, Keeps the Cardiologist Away!

   

                                                        source: https://wifflegif.com/

The risks of Atherosclerosis – a condition that causes narrowing of blood vessels due to cholesterol deposition and is the reason behind many heart problems, are cut by half in the case of moderate drinkers.

Read more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12926909

4. Reduced Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

   

   A study has concluded that either due to the benefits of a good circulation to brain or due to the silicon content of the beer, risk of Alzheimer’s disease

   ¹

   is reduced.

Read more: https://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/08/16/moderate-drinking-may-help-prevent-alzheimers-other-dementia/

5. Keeping Diabetes at Bay

   

   A study by Harvard Researchers has concluded that moderate consumption, not more than one to two drinks a day, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes among middle aged men by about 25%.

Read more: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/moderate-alcohol-intake-may-decrease-mens-risk-for-type-2-diabetes/

6. Wrong Address, Cataract!

   

   Now the only thing you probably remember about Mitochondria

   ²

   from high school, is that it is the power house of cells. But did you know that the antioxidant activity in the outer lens of the eye is increased due to less mitochondrial damage, reducing the risk of developing cataracts, in those who drink moderate amount of beer.

Read more: https://news.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-2/Beer–in-moderation–cuts-risk-of-cataracts-and-heart-disease-9473-1/

7. Strong Bones
   

   

                                                                        source: https://gifsoup.com/

A study in 2009 has associated good mineral density of bones over the age of sixty with moderate consumption of alcohol. However, this research also found out that drinking more than 2 drinks per day, caused just the opposite effects in men contributing to a great bone loss.

Read more: https://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2009/03_2/features/03/

8. Lower your Blood Pressure

A research at Harvard has shown that beer drinkers, who drink a moderate amount occasionally, are less likely to develop hypertension than those who prefer wine or other cocktails.

Read more:

9. Helping Insomniacs

   Lactoflavin

   ³

   and Nicotinic acid

   ⁴

   present in beer can promote sleep. Also, a study shows that the taste of beer, without any effect from alcohol itself, can trigger dopamine release in the brain helping you sleep.

Read more: https://news.medicine.iu.edu/releases/2013/04/kareken-beer-taste-dopamine.shtml

10. Lose Weight

    

    No, I am not saying the term ‘beer belly’ came into existence out of nowhere, but a study has found that xanthohumol

    ⁵

    , a compound present in beer, if not cause a magical transformation, could help you reduce some pounds.

Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/health/revealed-the-secret-ingredient-in-beer-that-could-help-you-lose/

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Cheers!

1. Scheltens, Philip, et al. “Alzheimer’s disease.” The Lancet 388.10043 (2016): 505-517. ↩︎
2. Ernster, Lars, and Gottfried Schatz. “Mitochondria: a historical review.” The Journal of cell biology 91.3 (1981): 227s-255s. ↩︎
3. Vetter, Hellmuth. “Lactoflavin.” Ergebnisse der Physiologie, biologischen Chemie und experimentellen Pharmakologie 38 (1936): 855-876. ↩︎
4. Bodor, E. T., and S. Offermanns. “Nicotinic acid: an old drug with a promising future.” British journal of pharmacology 153.S1 (2008): S68-S75. ↩︎
5. Stevens, Jan F., and Jonathan E. Page. “Xanthohumol and related prenylflavonoids from hops and beer: to your good health!.” Phytochemistry 65.10 (2004): 1317-1330. ↩︎

Last Updated on March 24, 2024 by NamitaSoren