Beer and Wine Lowers BMI!

Cheers with wine!Great news from the fabulous Nurses’ Health Study. It found that women who drink one to two glasses of beer, wine, or liquor per day had a 15% lower BMI (body mass index) than those who abstain.

Why? Alcohol helps regulate insulin levels, which then regulate weight. Of course, moderation is the key. More than two drinks a day can actually cause weight gain and increase your risk of assorted diseases.

Beer as Good Food

beerTraditionally, beer has been viewed as a nourishing household product like bread, based on grain. One style, doppelbock, was even dubbed "liquid bread" by the monks who relied on it for sustenance during Lenten fasts. In earlier times, beer was the healthful mealtime beverage for young and old alike and a source of valuable nutrients.

Beer's ingredients are so pure that beer has been regarded as inherently kosher--conforming to the highest standards of food purity.

In the 1930s, copy writer Dorothy Sayers (best known for the Lord Peter Wimsey crime novels) coined the advertising line "Guinness is Good for You!" and the famous Irish stout was dispensed to invalids and nursing mothers.

Somewhere, we lost sight of beer's essential wholesomeness. Now, research has documented beer's medical benefits, but beer's contributions to good nutrition are just as impressive, and just as important to overall health.

Nutrition FactsIf an "average" 12 ounce bottle of beer sported a Nutrition Facts label, this is what it would tell you:

  • Beer contains 150 calories
  • Beer has no fat
  • Beer has no cholesterol
  • Beer is caffeine free
  • Beer contains no nitrate
  • Beer contains 1 gram of protein and 13 grams of carbohydrates
  • Beer contains significant amounts of magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, and biotin
  • Beer is chock full of the B vitamins (as anyone who has taken brewer's yeast as a B supplement already knows), with impressive amounts of B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxin), and B9 (folate), with smaller amounts of B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B12 inotisol and choline.
  • Beer is 92 percent water

There will be variation from one beer style to another, of course. "Light beers" contain fewer calories and carbohydrates. High alcohol beers -- barley wines or imperial stouts-- may contain more calories and carbohydrates. Different beer styles--dark styles, wheat beers--will have different levels of trace elements from pale ales or pilsners. But, across the board, beer in moderation is a nutritious beverage, and a great companion for food.

Differences Between Beer & Hard Liquor

Is there a difference between beer and hard liquor? You bet your brewsky!

Beer and hard liquor are not the same, despite what the liquor lobby may be telling you. For example, a standard Scotch on the rocks is equal to 1.5 beers, a Pina Colada has the alcohol content of more than two beers and a Long Island Iced Tea contains as much alcohol as five to six beers.


You're Better Off With Beer cheers!
Beer and Your Health

Do any of the following statements peak your interest? We have a great article written by Gregg Glaser that you need to read. With Gregg's permission as well as permission from the All About Beer Magazine, we have it available for you to read right here!

 

The beneficial effects of drinking alcohol

Alcohol and the Heart

Alcohol and the Elderly

Beer or Wine?

Folate and B-Vitamins

Alcohol After a Heart Attack

Alcohol and Stroke

Alcohol and Brain Function

Alcohol Metabolism

A Little Bit of This/ A Little Bit of That-Beer Helps

Alcohol and Women's Health

Beer and the Kidneys

Alcohol and Stress

How Much to Drink?

read the entire article

 

Beer's Surprising Health Benefits

By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD
SHAPE Magazine
May 5, 2011

According to a recent American Heart Association survey, over 75 percent of the respondents believed that wine is heart healthy, but what about beer? Believe it or not the sudsy stuff is beginning to gain a reputation among health professionals as a beneficial beverage. Here are four guilt-free reasons to pop a few brewskies this summer:

a tall oneIt slashes heart disease risk.
All alcoholic beverages, including beer, have been shown to boost HDL, the "good" cholesterol, lower LDL the "bad" cholesterol and thin the blood, to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Moderate alcohol consumption, which is one 12 oz beer a day for women and two for men, has also been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and improved brain function in older adults

Beer offers unique benefits compared to wine and spirits.
In the Nurses Health Study, over 70,000 women ages 25 to 42 were tracked for the link between alcohol and high blood pressure. The study found that those who drank moderate amounts of beer had lower blood pressures than nurses who drank either wine or spirits.

It may help reduce kidney stones and boost bone density.
In published research men who chose beer had a lower risk of kidney stones compared to other alcoholic beverages, possibly due to the diuretic effect combined with beer's high water content. Other studies show that compounds in hops may also slow the release of calcium from bone, preventing it from forming a stone. Likely for the same reason, moderate beer drinking has been linked to higher bone densities among women.

read more

 

More about Beer and Your Health

Believe it or not, taken in moderation, beer is actually a very healthy food. It's full of vitamins and minerals which are good for nerve production, help you concentrate, increase blood circulation, and stimulate the metabolism. The hops, low alcohol content, and carbonation help relax the body.

A glass of beer has less calories than the equivalent amount of whole milk or apple juice, and much less than the empty calories contained in harder libations. Alcohol raises the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) thus benefiting the heart and circulatory system.

here's to your health
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