Ready for confirmation of some good old news to start your day, compliments of your favorite Beer of the Month Club? On-going research has repeatedly shown that including beer as a part of your balanced diet continues to contribute more than just inner happiness. Beer, in moderation, really IS good for your health! Current controlled experimental research solidifies former findings that beer offers many health benefits.
One old study, an analysis conducted by Spain’s Centre for Information on Beer and Health, found that fifty nuns enjoyed improved cholesterol and triglyceride levels when following the rules of the study. All former tea-drinkers, they were required to drink 16 ounces of beer a day for the first 45 days, followed by another 45 days of eating hops, the grain used to make beer. Not only were they healthier, but happier, too! Rumor has it the participants enjoyed the first half of the study much more, but acknowledged that the hops kept ’em hopping during the last half.
A decade-old issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that elderly patients suffering from arterial disease of the extremities found relief after moderate consumption of alcohol, including beer, wine and liquor. The hospitalized study subjects, who experienced acute leg pain due to reduced blood flow from blocked arteries, consumed 1 to 13 servings each week. Both men and women had markedly improved blood flow, thus less pain, at the end of the study. Moderate drinking reduces arterial pressure, lessening risk for arterial disease.
A continuation of those findings confirm that elderly people who regularly enjoy 1 to 13 alcoholic drinks weekly have about a 45% lower risk of developing arterial leg disease, compared to both non-drinkers and those who drank more.
ASK MR. BEERHEAD: DUFFY REINS OF BREVERTON, IDAHO ASKS: “WHICH IS THE HEART-HEALTHIEST, BEER, WINE OR HARD LIQUOR?”
Controlled studies prove all three provide measurable cardio-vascular benefits, and appear to be quite equal. A huge study of 38,000 men that stretched over several years at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center provided sound proof. Regardless of which of the three beverages the participants consumed, moderate drinkers were about 33% less likely to have a heart attack than non-drinkers. Subjects who enjoyed alcohol daily were absolutely at lower risk than those who drank less often. (Personally, I cast my vote for beer!)
