Beer & Health the myths and misconceptions

[brenmurph]

The topic was raised today on the forum and there were a few surprises. Something I'm passionate about is Nutrition and Health and beer is very much in there.. I earned numerous top qualifications in Nutrition, Exercise and Health including a Master of Science degree and my clients include Kildare County Council and numerous other corporates.
As many of ye know I am a passionate and enthusiastic brewer and the health benefits of beer has been known to me since the 80's when I first start drinking real ales and then brewing them while all my mates lashed back fosters and carling.

I think the subject will appear much more regularly. Some people both in my professional work recently and on the forum today asked about evidence for the benefits of alcohol moreso beer. I have reams (hundreds of hours scientific literature) on hand relating to beer, but morso the ingredients / componants of beer including alcohol, every one of which is beneficial for health when consumed in moderation and regularly.
One of the things Im faced with regularly when speaking on health is " is red wine really good for u"...people seem to know / be aware that wine is potentially good for heart disease prevention, it may be, however a bottle or two per night to wash down the pizza and chips may not be so healthy, same applies to beer in excess and as part of a bad diet. What people dont appreciate is that pretty everything about beer is good not restricted to the physiological..theres social and psychological benefits as well.
Beer is a really important part of life and unlike wine...beer has always been available to the masses where wine hasnt, beer contains far more health benefits than wine does.
We have a section on food which could evolve.

heres a video for anyone interested in the subject, in fact I would like a forum on the topics mentioned in the video


From 11th Congress of the European Federation of Nutrition Societies (FENS)
Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos in Madrid (26th–29thOctober 2011)

http://www.beerandhealth.eu/php/index2.php?doc_id=28

[Eoin]

The Germans call it 'Fluessiges brot' which translates to liquid bread.

Sent using a complex system of semaphore and ninjas.

[brenmurph]

which came first do u think?  I was at a nutrition seminar with allesandro Ferreti who was lecturing on Gut Health. He spend some time talking re probiotic yeast and the powerfull little creatures, on a lighter note he explained that for many years during the world war the brits primarily lived on beer, bread and watercress and lived perfectly healthily despite working hard graft

[Eoin]

I think they go hand in hand, the brewery and the bakery sat side by side throughout history and shared their wares.

Sent using a complex system of semaphore and ninjas.

[Will_D]

... on a lighter note he explained that for many years during the world war the brits primarily lived on beer, bread and watercress and lived perfectly healthily despite working hard graft

Probably coz' the alcohol killed the liver fluke eggs found in contaminated watercress.

Watercress is a delicious wild food, however, if you are not sure of the water source and what animals have access to it ( sheep and cattle ) then be very careful.

I spent a lot of times on a Welsh hill farm and the WC was a no-no!

[RichC]

I dont think anyone has a problem accepting the health benefits of moderate drinking, but whats 'moderate' and in reality, how many of us drink moderately?

[brenmurph]

Its not as simple as jut drinking moderate drinking. The potential of Beer is superb as part of a healthy diet. In my first post I stated that a recomended intake of beer to wash down the kebab and chips is not the way to go.

Moderate drinking is in many ways simply not overloading the liver.  Moderate drinking could be 5 litres a day, who knows. Alcohol harm is not just about Alcohol Induced fatty Liver Disease its a whole host of physical and psychological harm when we drink to the extent that the liver is overloaded and produced toxic byproducts, days are mist off work, domestic abuse occurs and so forth.

Sensible drinking is where a smaller amount of lets say beer add highly nutritious food componants to the diet, blood pressure reduces, adrenal hormones are stable, sleep generally improves and we become happier and more relaxed. 
Did ye read the Altech t-shirts?

"Beer is proof the GOd loves us and wants us to be happy"

[brenmurph]

... on a lighter note he explained that for many years during the world war the brits primarily lived on beer, bread and watercress and lived perfectly healthily despite working hard graft

Probably coz' the alcohol killed the liver fluke eggs found in contaminated watercress.

Watercress is a delicious wild food, however, if you are not sure of the water source and what animals have access to it ( sheep and cattle ) then be very careful.

I spent a lot of times on a Welsh hill farm and the WC was a no-no!

same could probably be said for picking berries from the hedgerow, there would be a risk, as there is with "ready to eat" salad sold in tesco and other supermarkets.   Food is fairly safe today, probably safer then a century or two back, however immune systems are shot and hence the rapid rise in every preventable disease known to man.

Can watercress be bought in ireland, dont see it mush in supermarkets...I often see it at health shows and soforth

[brenmurph]

I dont think anyone has a problem accepting the health benefits of moderate drinking, but whats 'moderate' and in reality, how many of us drink moderately?

I drink moderatly..
i had about 6 beers / ciders at the apple farm weekend, I have two glasses per night at home, usually a few tasters and when I go out I pretty much always have 2 or maximum 3 pints and I dont really sit in pubs knocking back pints. Thats my way of doing it and I love it. I drink from small glasses like in many euro countries e.g.dusselforf and sorta hate the fact that its not cool in Ireland to drink from smaller glasses, thats a shame, even in UK it is perfectly normal to have a half whether ur an oul lad or a lagerlout and the beer costs HALF unlike in Irish pubs and hotels ( 5 euros a pint and 3.75 for a half, disgraceful practice).
So thats another item we need to deal with as we progress through the craft beer revolution.... and promote real beer and in my case beer & health promotion

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

which came first do u think?

It takes less effort and technique to process grains into a kind of primitive beer, than it does to make bread.

I can imagine early people collected wild grains and may have processed them into a kind of porridge. If mixed with fruit and left aside, it would ferment quite quickly. Primitive malting, as a process could easily be discovered by accident if stored grain got wet. There is also evidence that what we thought were cooking 'pits' heated with hot stones, may have actually been the worlds first mash tuns.

There is an egyptian 'beer' that is made by breaking half-baked loaves of bread into water - the purpose of the loaves was to keep live cultures storable and safe. So what we think of bread, may have actually evolved from an advanced process for making beer.

[Eoin]

Indeed Russian Kwass is a beer/bread hybrid.

Sent using a complex system of semaphore and ninjas.

[Dunkel]

And I know some etymologists believe "bread" and "brewed" come from the same source.

[UpsidedownA (Andrew)]

I'm in complete agreement that more should be done to publicise the nutritional value of moderate beer drinking. Red wine has all the headlines but study after study has shown that it's the alcohol itself that is responsible for the cardio protective effect of moderate consumption. Moderate drinkers are less likely to suffer from heart disease than teetotallers.

It's a good question what constitutes moderation. The current UK advice of 21units per week for a man and 14 units for a woman is likely to be overly cautious, because it is based on what subjects admit to drinking and people are more likely to underestimate their drinking on such surveys.

If you set the upper limit on moderation at the point where health outcomes at that limit were as bad as teetotaller outcomes, moderation might be as high as two litres of ordinary beer a day.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

@brenmurph

The UK beer scene is great. Big difference in prices all over the place, but also stunning value to be had. If you are ever in London, try and find any of the Euston Tap, the Holborn Whippet or the Pelt Trader. Stunning beers, sourced direct from breweries. They are starting to bring in US beers on keg (Rogue/Lagunitas IPAs for about £2.50 a half) - stunning deal.

Half a pint costing you half the price of a pint is also a big deal - it creates an environment for appropriately drinking stronger beers, and doesn't punish those who wish to consume in moderation.

In fact I think that if craft beer is to really take off in Ireland (meaning stronger beers become available on cask or keg), then the half pint needs to cost half. I have drank 8% beers in pints, but I have a bit more sense now.

Back on topic: The correlation between beer & social engagement is a good one.

[brenmurph]

@ upsidedown
"Red wine has all the headlines but study after study has shown that it's the alcohol itself that is responsible for the cardio protective effect of moderate consumption. Moderate drinkers are less likely to suffer from heart disease than teetotallers"

Agree and disagree.

Red wine has the reputation to be rich in polyphenols flavonoids and so on and has antioxidant properties. When considering the evidence about the lifespan and healthspan of wine drinkers you have to consider who are wine drinkers, where is wine drank and what is the socioeconomic status of wine drinkers included in the studies. Wealthier people drink wine, its often consumed with food, its consumed in a relaxed setting and is often associated with warmer climates like france and the med where they consume / have a culture of  fresh foods first.  So now look at why wine drinkers live longer and have less heart disease...is it the wine?

re beer
theres a 1300 page book published by elsevier scientific comprising  an absolute mass of scientific evidence relating to beer AND HEALTH in disease prevention. The evidence is overwhelming on beer and its constituents not limited to:

folate content, probiotic yeast, Silicon content, mineral content, fibre content, B vitamin range, the low alc compared to wine and the type of sugars contained within.

beer is very different nutritionally from wine and its this stand out nutrition quality that makes beer so nutritious. Im talking real beer here.. not filtered heineken unfortunatly for the masses, commercial beer is still superior nutritionally to wine in many respects but unfiltered real ale with some live yeast is in my opinion a superfood up there with garlic, fish and all the other well-proven foods