istockphoto.com

istockphoto.com

Some of the benefits given to support the case that beer consumed in moderation, can be healthy are:

1. Beer is more nutritious than other alcoholic drinks. …

2. Beer can help protect your heart. …

3. Beer cleans and restores skin and prevents acne

4. Beer helps prevent kidney stones. …

5. Beer lowers bad cholesterol. …

6. Beer strengthens your bones. …

7. Beer helps reduce stress. …

8. Beer may help improve memory. …

9. Beer helps cognitive function.

10. It contributes to our daily nutrient intake.

11. It may lower your risk of diabetes.

12. It may make your heart healthier.

13. It may build stronger bones.

14. It may boost brain power.

15. It cleans your teeth.

16. It may reduce inflammation.

17. It may help you live longer.

I decided to investigate each of these claims to determine if these claims were put forth by people who are partial to beer or submitted based on adequate research.   

I learned that hops, yeast, and grains in beer contribute carbohydrates and only a small amount of B vitamins, and potassium.   You can get a higher percentage of your recommended daily allowance of these nutrients by eating vegetables.  That does eliminate all of the reasons for drinking beer.   There are other reasons.  Of course most people know that drinking too much beer is bad for you, while eating too many vegetables doesn’t hurt a person at all.   Conversely, “Heavy beer consumption wipes out any beer drinking health benefit and makes a person’s health even worse.   It increases the risk of liver cancer, cirrhosis, and obesity,” Rimm says. Aug 18, 2014  

 Drinking too much beer is definitely harmful to your brain, your liver, and your obesity factor.   So, if you decide to go for the benefits of drinking beer, you want to ensure yourself that you will drink no more than 16 oz of beer per day if you are a man and no more than 12 ounces per day if you are a woman.   To ensure that your drinking remains moderate, you should make sure that no one in your family has an addiction, or propensity for drinking, otherwise you could get caught in the same addictive trap.  

Benefits

Lets start with the heart benefits of drinking.   The alcohol mixed with water is good for disinfecting and cleaning your blood stream and digestive system.   The bad cholesterol and other sludge that somehow makes its way into your arteries can be cleaned out of your system via beer.    This is the claim.   That is the one thing that perhaps the consumption of vegetables can’t do as well as beer can do.   For example, the toxins in the air include aluminum, which can get into your system and can begin weakening your brain bringing the onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and poor memory.   Studies show that consuming moderate amounts of beer can substantially reduce brain declination.  Beer, according to some studies, can help stave off Alzheimer’s and dementia. Drinking beer moderately (the key word here is moderately) can help to flush damaging compounds from your brain such as aluminum salts.

Cholesterol

A study presented by the American Heart Association showed that moderate beer drinkers actually had slower declines in good cholesterol than those who didn’t drink beer at all. A slower decline in good cholesterol is a positive thing, since you want to have more good cholesterol and less bad cholesterol for optimal health. Just don’t pair your beer with too much bad food.

Beer is Nutritious

Depending on the type, your beer could contain folate, B vitamins, selenium, and potassium. Folate and selenium are relatively rare, as nutrients go, and many Americans don’t get enough of them. Beer can actually help prevent a deficiency!

Heart Disease

Excessive drinking has long been tied with an increased risk of heart disease, but according to a 2003 study, drinking small amounts of beer was associated with a decreased risk of arteriosclerosis, which is a risk factor for heart disease.

Acne and Healthy skin

Another benefit of drinking beer is that it can reduce acne.   Acne is caused by bacteria, inflammation, and clogged pores. … Drinking beer doesn’t eliminate acne. It also doesn’t directly worsen the condition as many people have thought.  What it does is alter hormone levels in your body that can reduce acne development.   At the same time, beer is a good cleanser and helps dissolve dead skin cells, and increase the elasticity of the skin.   Beer does this by balancing the skin’s pH levels while it cleanses  the skin.  Some research has shown that it brings about a natural glow to the skin via this cleansing and the adding of elasticity.  This is a benefit of beer that you can’t get as easily from vegetables.  Aug 4, 2017 

Boneloss

Beer can help reduce osteoporosis.   It doesn’t have the calcium that milk can provide, but it can actually help produce healthy, strong bones. The National Institutes of Health says that orthosilicic acid found in beer, can help reduce your risk of osteoporosis. And, luckily for beer drinkers, orthosilicic acid is found in almost all beer.  Orthosilicic acid prevents the absorption of calcium by the body, which often is absorbed from the bones.   Additionally, Orthosilicic acid helps to draw aluminum from the brain, which helps reduce the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.   Having made this argument, it might also be stated that adding calcium to your daily diet can be almost as  effective as drinking beer, except for the reduction of aluminum in the brain.

It reduces your risk of stroke

According to Harvard’s Nutrition Source website, moderate drinking could be preventative against heart disease and certain types of stroke.   But, in a slightly less fun turn of events, studies show that more than four drinks a day and you’ll significantly increase your risk of stroke.

Kidney Stone Relief

Beer lowers the risk of kidney stones, which is also a benefit of the Orthoselicic acid which prevents the absorption of calcium from the bones that can later be filtered out of the blood stream and accumulated in the kidneys causing Kidney stones.   Last year (2019), a study suggested that the risk of developing kidney stones decreases with increasing beer consumption. … The study’s authors noted that both the water and alcohol found in beer are shown to increase urine flow and dilute urine and thereby reduce the risk of stones forming from other impurities. Jun 15, 2017

According to research conducted in Finland, beer can help protect men from ever having to pass kidney stones. Their results showed a 40 percent decrease in risk while consuming one bottle of beer each day.

Losing Weight

Beer has been given the credit for helping people to lose weight.   However, most people know that excessive drinking can cause people to gain weight, but moderate drinking can reduce inflammation within the body which can also reduce the desire to eat more and thus reduce the amount of food a person eats. Mar 5, 2017

Does beer make you sleepy?

Although alcohol’s sedative effects can make you drowsy, they also have other effects that can interfere with quality sleep. … Alcohol’s sedative quality can rob you of energy in another way. Drinking wine, beer, or hard liquor during the day can make you feel drowsy or lethargic.  Again if done in moderation, drinking beer can actually add energy and interest while reducing apprehension and thus people do more things and use more energy.

Does beer increase your libido? 

 Again according to science, Beer in moderation will increase your libido. This is because the ethanol in beer stimulates a primitive part of your brain called the hypothalamus, which is located right above your brain stem.  This causes both men and women to have an increased desire for sex.  Oct 1,   2014

Does beer make you happier?

Everyone knows that it can make you feel happy and at the same time, you might look goofy to your observers.   Research supports this — according to one recent study, a chemical in beer works to release happy hormones in your brain.  by Taboola Sponsored Links

It boosts your self-esteem

The same study that shows that beer makes you happy, also shows that beer enhances your esteem.   A significant boost in a person’s self-esteems is enough to change the outcome of a person’s life.  If the need to have your self-esteem enhanced becomes great enough, that can lead to addiction and must be considered when questioning the effects of beer.   Again, the best method is to use beer in moderation.  Beer, in this case, can help you feel better short-term. 

It lowers your risk of diabetes

Could a beer a day keep diabetes away? Research conducted at Harvard showed that among a group of men who rarely drank, drinking one to two beers a day actually made them healthier. The beer reduced their risk of Type 2 diabetes by just over 40%.

It’s good for your eyesight

According to a study from the American Chemical Society, beer (in moderation) can help prevent cataracts.

It has Antioxidants

You know that wine has powerful antioxidants that come from grapes — but did you know beer has cancer-fighting compounds, as well? The hops used to brew most beers contain prenylated flavonoids, a type of antioxidant known to have various disease-fighting qualities. Some studies show that hops could help ease damaging inflammation.

It could help with a workout recovery

Rewarding yourself with a beer after a grueling workout could actually be a good call — not only for your mood but also for your health. Beer itself is dehydrating, so make sure you pair your beer with a glass or two of water. But the carbohydrates and electrolytes in beer are exactly what your body needs after a tough sweat. Those benefits dissipate if you don’t hydrate well enough, though. While one post-workout beer could do some good, three post-workout beers is probably not a good idea.

Summary

Readers may expect me to declare beer as harmful and no way healthful.   After looking at the evidence carefully and skeptically, I have determined that my declaration to my readers is that beer which is consumed in one to two bottles per day is not harmful and may be very beneficial.   Beer consumed at levels greater than this actually does harm to a person’s health.   With that being said, make your own decision as to whether you will drink some or none.  You can live without it and you can live better with it if you do it in moderation.