Beer drinkers rejoice! Recent research shows that
beer can also be good for whatever ails you. The key to tapping into beer’s benefits is
moderation. Heavy drinking increases the threat of liver damage, some cancers, and heart problems. Bingeing
on beer can also make you fat.
Here are 10 surprising — and healthy — reasons
to cheer about your next beer.
Stronger
bones: Beer contains high levels of silicon, which is linked to bone health. In
a 2009 study at Tufts University and other centres, older men and women who
swigged one or two drinks daily had higher bone density, with the greatest
benefits found in those who favoured beer or wine. However, downing more than
two drinks was linked to increased risk for fractures.
Stronger
heart: A 2011 analysis of 16 earlier studies involving
more than 200,000 people, conducted by researchers at Italy’s Fondazion di
Ricerca e Cura, found a 31 per cent reduced risk of heart disease in those who
quaffed about a pint of beer daily, while risk surged in those who guzzled
higher amounts of alcohol, whether beer, wine, or spirits. More than 100
studies also show that moderate drinking trims risk of heart attacks and dying from cardiovascular disease by 25 to 40 per cent, Harvard reports. A beer or two a day can help
raise levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol that helps keep arteries from
getting clogged.
Healthier
kidneys: A study in Finland singled out beer among other
alcoholic drinks, finding that each bottle of beer men drank daily lowered
their risk of developing kidney stones by 40 per cent. One theory is that
beer’s high water content helped keep kidneys working, since dehydration
increases kidney stone risk. It’s also possible that the hops in beer help curb
leeching of calcium from bones; that “lost” calcium also could end up in the
kidneys as stones.
Boosting
brain health: A beer a day may help keep Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia at bay,
researchers say. A 2005 study tracking the health of 11,000 older women showed
that moderate drinkers (those who consumed about one drink a day) lowered their
risk of mental decline by as much as 20 per cent, compared to non-drinkers. In
addition, older women who downed a drink a day scored as about 18 months
“younger,” on average, on tests of mental skills than the non-drinkers.
Source: health.yahoo.net
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