benefits of beer drinking

[zachsan]

http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/041204TheBuzzOnBeer.htm

According to Tucker – associate professor of nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy – the alcoholic beverage contains high levels of an ingredient which allows the deposit of calcium and other minerals into bone tissue.

“The reason, we think, is that beer is a major contributor to the diet of silicon,” the Tufts expert, who is director of the nutritional epidemiology program at the Friedman School, told the Courant.

And protecting bones may not be the only health benefit of beer. Another recent study found that moderate consumption of dark beer – which contains antioxidants that help prevent clogged arteries -- may reduce risk of heart disease.

“Most health research suggests that benefits, including protection against heart disease, are noted with up to one drink per day for women and up to two a day for men,” Tucker told the Courant.

granted, my net consumption is well above this amount, but still...

i recall similar studies concerned with the drinking of red wine to prevent heart disease. those studies have since been questioned, but it's still a nice thought that getting a bit of a buzz may be good for you.

[doc]

There's been many "questions" about these studies that supposedly demonstrate that alcohol protects people from heart disease. Personally, from my experience, people that drink lots of alochol (that is, alcoholics; how's that for a definition) don't get heart disease like others do, even though alcoholics also tend to have other chemical dependancies, such as smoking. The two go hand in hand.

Aloholics tend to die of other things before they get heart disease. Like liver disease, malnutrition, cerebral disorders.

The only thing that I've heard about beer, is that it makes you fat. Alcohol, in the presence of red wine, is supposedly good for you, but it's not the alcohol as much as it is the antioxidants present in the grape juice. And, those studies which demonstrate the good health benefits of alcohol tend to be skewed. For example, Japanese who drink sake also tend to eat a lot of fish. The health benefits most probably are from the fish, and not the sake.

Studies can basically tell you what you want to hear, if you present the date the right way. Got to be careful about these medical journals. Personally, I get my information from the National Enquirer....

[Steve]

Beer Study?!?

Hey, How do I get on this Beer Drinking Study???