The benefits and harms of beer for the human body

Beer ranks third in the list of the most popular drinks in the world after water and tea, and among alcoholic drinks in terms of prevalence it has no equal. To obtain beer, malt wort is fermented using brewer’s yeast, hops or other herbs are added to it. The history of this drink dates back to the primitive era. Rumor has it that the first farmers grew grain not for bread, but for beer.

What do we know about the benefits and dangers of beer? How many people, so many opinions, although this drink can be included in the number of those that cause a lot of controversy among experts. There are supporters of beer, and there are those who urge not to drink it, like all other alcoholic beverages. We are neither supporters nor opponents of the intoxicated drink, so we will objectively tell you about how drinking beer affects human health.

Benefits of beer

Drinking beer in large quantities is naturally harmful, but if consumed in moderation, the benefits of beer are obvious, since it has long been proven by science. True, for medicinal purposes, only a naturally brewed alcoholic drink is recommended for use, which is usable for only a few days. In addition, when we talk about the benefits of beer, we mean its prudent reception.

• Beer strengthens the heart… Due to the potassium and sodium content, drinking beer in moderation helps to lower blood pressure in hypertension, strengthen the heart muscle, improve metabolism and red blood cell production, prevent the development of diabetes and even dementia. In addition, using this drink can reduce the risk of an abundance of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. The natural drink is rich in polyphenols, which are powerful natural antioxidants that stimulate blood circulation. To some extent, beer is even healthier than wine for human health, since it helps to reduce blood cholesterol by 10-20 percent;
• Reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack… Phenolic compounds are the healthiest ingredients in beer. Their presence in the composition of the drink helps to prevent the formation of blood clots and stabilize lipid metabolism, which, in fact, helps to prevent heart attacks;
• Provides prevention of the formation of kidney stones… Beer has a strong diuretic effect due to the presence of citric acid in it, so its regular use washes away sand and small stones from the kidneys and prevents further development of this disease. This property also makes it possible to use beer to remove salts of heavy metals from the body;
• Improves the condition of the musculoskeletal system… The intoxicating drink contains a large amount of silicon, which is an excellent prophylactic agent against osteoporosis and many other diseases of the joints and bones. Depending on the different types of beer, it contains from 6,4 to 56,6 milligrams of this trace element per liter of drink. Most of all silicon is found in light beer, and the daily intake of this substance for the body varies from 20 to 50 milligrams. Even topical ointments for rheumatism are made on the basis of beer;
• Strengthens immunity… Just 1 liter of beer contains 70 percent of the daily value of ascorbic acid. This vitamin is added to the composition of beer in order to prevent oxidation processes. By drinking only half a glass of this drink, you will satisfy the body’s daily need for folic and niacin. Hot beer, diluted honey and cloves can even cure colds;
• Increases blood flow in the liver, kidneys, lungs and muscles, improves the secretion of gastric juice with the help of carbon dioxide… In addition, this component slows down intoxication and helps to drink beer quickly;
• This is the only alcoholic beverage that contains hop bitterness.… Thanks to this substance, the production of gastric juice is enhanced, which reduces the harmful effects of alcohol on the body;
• An excellent preventive remedy for cholera… Beer was actively used during the cholera epidemic, and this drink coped well with the prevention of this dangerous acute infectious disease. With the development of medicine, the benefits of beer in preventing cholera were scientifically proven by the German microbiologist Robert Koch, who discovered the causative agent of tuberculosis. In the course of experiments, he found out that cholera vibrios died after being treated with beer;
• Promotes skin and hair rejuvenation… Unfiltered beer masks, beer steam and foam have a rejuvenating effect on the skin, making it softer and more tender. With the help of these cosmetics, you can treat boils, oily skin, wrinkles. Rinses after washing the hair strengthen and accelerate their growth, give them a silky shine;
• Extractive components contained in hops destroy bacteria, have anesthetic and sedative effect… That is why after drinking beer we feel calm and sound asleep, and also feel less various pains;
• Restores the gastric mucosa… This is especially well manifested during gastritis and gastric ulcer;
• Non-alcoholic beer is recommended for athletes to provide anti-inflammatory and anti-infectious effects… Joggers often suffer from inflammation and infections. But thanks to the antioxidants polyphenols, beer can help keep runners safe from these diseases. This was confirmed by recent studies by German scientists who conducted an experiment on 300 participants in a running marathon in Munich;
• Antioxidants polyphenols prevent tuberculosis and cancer.

The harm of beer

Nutritionists note that the quality of today’s beer is far from that which was prepared in ancient times, and it is rather naive to expect some kind of health-improving effect from it. In addition, many people like to abuse this drink, in which case beer is destructive to the body. Let’s talk about the dangers of low-quality beer and excessive consumption of this drink, regardless of whether it is natural or not.

• Destroys the digestive system… Excessive amount of beer in the body damages the gastric mucosa and glands, which are responsible for the synthesis of gastric juice, and this is fraught with disturbances in the digestion of food. The harmful effects of beer and the pancreas, in which its components impair the production of enzymes, are not spared. Regular and excessive consumption of beer can provoke the development of colon cancer, since hop resins are harmful carcinogens;
• Enlarges the heart… This disease is often referred to by doctors as “bovine (beer) heart syndrome.” Drinking a lot of alcoholic drink causes a diuretic effect, which makes the heart pump excessive amounts of fluid. This leads to varicose veins and enlargement of the heart. A big heart will not bring any benefit to the body, since it will become weak and overgrown with fat. The patient will begin to suffer from regular shortness of breath even with minor physical exertion, then high blood pressure, tachycardia will appear, and ultimately – a stroke or heart attack;
• Worsens the condition of the kidneys… The strong diuretic effect of beer puts an undue burden on the kidneys. Have you noticed how much you want to use the toilet after drinking a glass of beer? This is the so-called polyuria associated with increased urine secretion due to the irritating effect of alcohol on the kidney tissue, which stimulates their filtration functions. Due to its diuretic properties, beer flushes out of the body all macro- and microelements necessary for the full functioning of the body, especially vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. A lack of potassium leads to disturbances in the heart rhythm, weakness in the legs, a lack of ascorbic acid is fraught with a weakening of the immune system, and a lack of magnesium impairs the functioning of the nervous system, because of which a person does not sleep well, becomes irritable;
• Addictive… Beer alcoholism is a medical term and science has proven its dependence on this drink. Alcoholism from drinking beer develops 4 times faster than from drinking vodka. This is mainly due to the cheapness and availability of beer, ease of use, and its refreshing effect. In the field of drug addiction, beer addiction is considered a difficult and difficult to treat type of alcoholism. Worst of all, alcoholics do not admit their dependence on beer and almost never turn to narcologists and psychiatrists. And only when they begin to complain of pain in the heart, stomach or liver, they go to the doctors, and not to get rid of addiction, but to relieve painful symptoms. The advanced stages of beer alcoholism lead to sclerosis of the renal vessels, kidney infarction, hemorrhages in these organs, as well as to the appearance of foci of cell death, which are replaced by connective tissue and lead to a decrease and shrinkage of the kidney;
• Damages the liver, impairs the synthesis of proteins, enzymes and vitamins… As you know, the liver performs the functions of cleansing the body, has an antitoxic effect. However, if its work is directed towards the regular fight against alcohol, this will lead to disruptions in its functioning. The liver wears out heavily under the influence of alcohol, becomes weak and unable to fully perform its functions. This makes it vulnerable to toxic substances, which, penetrating into it, cause inflammatory processes, and they, in turn, provoke liver cirrhosis or hepatitis;
• Beer increases the growth of female hormones in men… To put it bluntly, men who drink a lot of beer are gradually turning into women. This is due to hormonal imbalances in the body, suppression of the production of the main male hormone testosterone and an increase in the level of the female hormone estrogen, which ends up in beer with hops. Have you noticed that men who abuse beer are distinguished by a special figure: a beer belly, fat deposits on the waist and hips, small muscle mass, large sagging breasts with enlarged mammary glands, small hair on the body and face, altered voice timbre. But this is not the worst thing that can happen to beer lovers, because in addition to this, their potency deteriorates. The Czechs even have such a proverb: “A man drinking beer looks like a watermelon: his stomach grows and the tip dries up.” By the way, about the beer belly it is worth saying that it is not the beer itself that leads to its increase, but the food that is consumed while drinking the drink: chips, hot dogs, pizza, nuts, crackers;
• Women who have been drinking beer for several years have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

As you can see, the benefits and harms of beer depend directly on the amount of beer consumed. The scientist Theophrastus Bombast Hockenheim, also known as Paracelsus, wrote on this occasion: “whether beer is useful or turns out to be poison depends only on its quantity.”

So what is the rate of drinking beer that has a beneficial effect on the body? Safe doses: 1 gram of alcohol per 1 kg of weight. So, an adult who weighs about 80 kilograms is recommended to drink no more than 2 liters of beer, without fear of negative consequences for his body. To reap the benefits of beer, it is recommended that you drink no more than 1 liter of the intoxicated drink.

Nutritional value and chemical composition of beer

Video about the benefits and harms of beer