Benefits of Moderate Beer Consumption. Beer as a wholesome beverage has formed a staple part of human diet for thousands of years. When consumed moderately and regularly beer is not only enjoyable to drink, but also beneficial to health. A daily consumption of 60 80 g alcohol (corresponding to 1.5 to 2 L of beer) by a healthy, adult male, or 40 60 g alcohol by an adult woman is not harmful. These guidelines vary according to body weight, age and nutritional habits as well as physiological condition. Rules for reasonable beer consumption are given in [53], [54].
It has been shown in many studies throughout the world that moderate consumption of beer in contrast to heavy drinking or abstention is protective against cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and some forms of stroke [55]. One explanation for this effect is that beer increases the level of good HDL cholesterol in the blood [56], another explanation is that alcohol reduces blood coagulation [57]. Beer is reported to protect against gallstone formation [58], diabetes [59], and even osteoporosis [60]. Hops contain active compounds which prevent calcium depletion of bones. Beer drinkers are protected against Heliobacter pylori bacteria [61], which cause stomach ulcers and may increase the risk of stomach cancer. Beer is also a source of soluble fiber (5 10 mg/L), originating from the cell walls of malted barley. A liter of beer contains on average 20 % of the recommended daily intake of fiber. Fibers do not only support a healthy bowel function, they also retard the digestion and adsorption of food, and lower cholesterol levels, which may help to reduce the risk of heart diseases [62].
Beer is also a source of antioxidants (200 600 mg phenolic carboxylic acids, flavonoids and tannoids per liter of beer), which show a cancerostatic activity [63-65]. Additional research has shown that the antioxidants present in beer are more readily available to the body than those from solid foods [66]. Furthermore, beer contains a large amount of dietetically valuable silicon as orthosilicate, its biologically available form. The silicon content of the human body has a direct effect on the mineralization of the bones and the density of the bone marrow. Beer contains 10 40 mg SiO2 per liter, which is absorbed to more than 50 % by the human body. Thus beer is one of the most important dietetic silicon sources.
