Regards, Ivan
Posted on 09/15/2004 1:05:19 AM PDT by MadIvan
TORONTO (CP) - There's good news for beer drinkers: turns out the stuff is good for you - in moderation, according to a new study.
The study, done at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., indicates that the polyphenols in beer - substances derived from barley - boost antioxidant activity in the blood. "Antioxidant activity ... helps prevent the oxidation of blood plasma by toxic free radicals that trigger many aging diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and cataracts," according to a news release on the study.
And you thought beer just tasted good.
Biochemist John Trevithick, one of the lead researchers, said beer has the same benefits as red wine, a finding that surprised him.
"We think that even though wine's got 20 times more polyphenols than beer, they're not absorbed as well" for reasons unknown, he said Tuesday.
The study found that one bottle of beer led to a beneficial increase in antioxidants but three bottles had the opposite effect, making the blood "pro-oxidant" and increasing the risks of many aging diseases.
The research was sponsored by beermakers Guinness and Labatt "unconditionally," Trevithick said. "They said whatever you find you're free to publish. So we're finding this deleterious effect from three drinks, and they haven't said anything about it at all."
The study will be published in December in the journal Nonlinearity in Biology, Toxicology and Medicine.
The researchers compared the effects of red wine, beer, stout (Guinness) and non-alcoholic stout, studying antioxidant levels in the blood of subjects at various intervals after consuming the drinks.
Previous research has found that moderate consumption of alcohol can be good for you because it increases levels of HDL, or good cholesterol.
But Trevithick's study focused on the effect of polyphenols, natural plant substances also found in grapes.
"Polyphenols ... have this antioxidant property which is similar to vitamin C or vitamin E in that they scavenge free radicals," he said.
And since it seems to be the polyphenols and not the alcohol that does the good work, drinking light beer or even de-alcoholized beer also has health benefits, Trevithick said.
But again, moderation is the key. Drinking three bottles of de-alcoholized beer makes the blood "pro-oxidant" just like three bottles of regular beer - another surprising finding, he said.
"It could be that too much of the polyphenols may not be good for you," Trevithick said.
He said light and non-alcoholic beer have lower levels of polyphenols than regular beer but would still offer most of the same benefits.
Robert Murray, a professor in the department of community health science at the University of Manitoba, said several studies have found a health protective effect from using alcohol.
"It's actually hard to demonstrate differences between wine and beer and liquor," Murray said. "They tend to operate in a similar way."
However, he said determining the biochemical reaction of drinking a bottle of beer is a far cry from assessing long-term health consequences.
"It's a long inferential leap from what they're demonstrating to disease outcomes," Murray said.
"It's understood now that moderate drinking is a protective thing. The converse of that is not heavy drinking - it's binge drinking. So that people's health can be enhanced by fairly significant levels of steady drinking, but people who take their eight pints of beer and drink them, instead of one a day, all on a Saturday night are at risk for health damages."
Another expert on beer drinking, bartender Simon Hanlon at popular McSorley's tavern in mid-town Toronto, was not surprised by news of health benefits of beer.
"We knew it all along," he said over the sound of clinking glasses.
"Beer is the nectar of the gods, as you know. It's not news."
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
So does Scotch, but if you really want to get relaxed fast, mix gin with Gateraide.
I think alcohol has inherently more detrimental effects than beneficial ones...
I went out tonight. I'm "good for the week".
Yahooooo!! Thanks Ivan!
I thought this might cheer a few people up. ;)
Regards, Ivan
"Beer is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy."
The man was Benjamin Franklin.
Say what you wish about alcohol, even many of the "lower" animals use it. Freely and without remorse.
I have no argument with those who choose to abstain, but I do draw a line when it comes to "WCTU" types. They sound like muslims when they get to pontificating on the evils of the "demon drink".
I've been saying that for years! ;-)
I'm still trying to get her to go along with the ..."Honey...really...beer is FOOD!"
Perhaps you ought to inform her that Guinness provides plenty of iron for your diet - it's good for preventing anaemia.
Regards, Ivan
Mmmmmmmmm....Guinness!!
Outstanding!
Now, if we could just have some research say the same thing about Chardonnay....
back in the 60's my grandfather had a heart attack, his doctor told him to drink a beer a day. I follow those words of wisdom.
Mode-what?
It is also good for nursing mothers!!!!!
Talk about "on tap"!
I knew it!
LOL I was just going to ping you! ; )
"Beer is the proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy".....Benjamin Franklin
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!
A glass of wine or beer a day is alcoholism?
Ping!
Relax. You sound like you could use a beer...
Tree VS Camaro. Guess who won.
Well that settles it for me. Lunch is coming in a bottle, forty minutes early.
I never have bought into this "moderation" crap, though.
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!
LOL!!!
All kidding aside, the pediatrician, the pediatric nurse and my OB said 1 or 2 dark beers would be good for both me and the baby.
Finally scientific justice for one of nature's miracle fluids - water, WD40, and beer...
Mmmmm... oatmeal...
I certainly don't mean to offend you and I sympathize with your position, but your statement demands a response.
Your comment belongs right next to theories about black helicopters. Just because you had a problem doesn't mean there aren't billions of people who will responsibly enjoy a beer every now and again.
Do you want to go after breweries and wineries the same way so many have all but banned the use of tobacco products? All for the better good?
Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable,
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar who could think you under the table,
David Hume could out-consume Schopenhauer and Hegel,
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine who was just as schloshed as Schlegel.
There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya 'bout the turning of the wrist,
Socrates himself was permanently pissed...
John Stuart Mill, of his own free will, with half a pint of shandy was
particularly ill,
Plato, they say, could stick it away, half a crate of whiskey every day,
Aristotle, Aristotle was a beggar for the bottle,
Hobbes was fond of his dram,
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart, "I drink therefore I am."
Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed.
Just where in the article does it say that the alcohol industry is encouraging or promoting drinking as a health benefit?
I have seen no magazine articles, no television ads, no billboards that say "Drink Beer. It's healthy."
I knowed this THE WHOLE TIME!!! Lemme juss tell you sumpin'. Are you listening? Ok. Ok. Wait. What I MEAN is I knew beer wass good for you. And THAT'S why I'm the HEALTHIEST man in this whole place. What are YOU laughin' at? You callin' me a LIAR, Buddy?
I'll take YOU and YOU and this whole stupid......THUMP zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........
You know, it's funny. I didn't make an argument. I asked you a direct question in the hopes that you would defend your position. Rather than answer my question, you decide to make assumptions and pretend that I made an argument for one position or another, which I did not.
Your "case" is based upon your own experiences and preconceived notions, not upon evidence or anything based in the article that started this discussion.
I don't want to be involved in a flame war here, but I would like you to answer the question I asked before....
Just where in the article does it say that the alcohol industry is promoting or encouraging consumption of their product as a health benefit?
Unless you can answer that question or give any other evidence of the industry being involved in such a practice, your argument simply won't hold. Please defend your position with fact, and remember, you are the one who made the accusations to begin with. I am simply asking you to prove your point.
Same here! My OB told me a drink would help let my milk down. Of course, that was 22 years ago with my eldest.
Well they're still suggesting it, or at least they were 6 years ago when my one and only was born!!!!
I asked my doc with my second boy about the benefits of a drink and he was evasive. My OB with my youngest ( she had a son the same age as my middle child and twin girls) said "Yes! But don't tell anyone I said so."
Ah, the duplicity that docs must engage in these days. ; )
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.