Beer and Health
A great article at The London Free Press summarizes the health aspects of beer. Even better, it’s written by a doctor with a degree from Harvard, so you can probably assume that he knows what he’s talking about. In it, he covers the “asinine” political climate regarding beer advertising (apparently, it’s illegal in Canada, too, for breweries to claim that beer is healthy), stresses the need to drink moderately as excessive drinking is unhealthy, and most importantly, discusses beer’s health benefits.
Some major points:
- Beer has no fat, no cholesterol, and no triglycerides. In fact, it increases good cholesterol and lowers bad cholesterol!
- The alcohol helps lubricate blood circulation and prevents clots.
- Beer has no sugar. Compare to soft drinks, which are loaded with sugar.
- Beer contains only 25 mg of sodium (per can?). Compare this to many prepackaged foods with easily 1000x this amount.
- Beer contains many minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
- Beer has many vitamins like folic acid, niacin, B3, B2, and B6.
- Beer helps people to relax.
- Studies show numerous health benefits like decreased risk of premature death and risk of macular degeneration.
And of course, I can’t stress enough that it’s best to drink moderately. Overdo it, and you can scratch all those benefits off your list.
