Beer drinking is good for your health

Don't expect any of the neo-prohibitionists to be coming out with the news that drinking beer is good for your health. Also do not expect the likes of the Government-funded BBC to report such news, heaven forbid if intelligent drinkers were allowed to make up their own minds when it comes down to scientific evidence.

Last month, Dr Jonathan Powell, Head of the Biomineral Research Section at the Medical Research Council Collaborative Centre for Human Nutrition Research (HNR) in Cambridge presented a lecture entitled

“The synergies of moderate ethanol and silicon intakes in bone health” at The 3rd Workshop on the Aqueous Chemistry and Biochemistry of Silicon: Silicon by the Sea, held in San Diego, California, USA.

Dr Powell said “Beer is one of the richest sources of silicon in the western diet. Historically silicon has not been seen as an essential nutrient, but our research suggests that it could play an important role in bone health.”

“We have shown that silicon appears to have a beneficial effect in increasing bone mineral density. Epidemiological work has identified a positive association between drinking beer in moderation (2 units per day) and increased bone mineral density. Our results suggest that this is, at least partly, due to the high silicon content of beer.”

“In a separate study published earlier this year we showed that moderate ethanol consumption has an acute, specific effect in reducing bone loss. The combination of the silicon and alcohol intake obtained from moderate beer consumption appears to promote both bone and connective tissue health”

However Dr Powell warns “drinking alcohol in high amounts is detrimental to health and consumption of beer, or any other alcoholic drink, in anything other than moderation, will far outweigh any potential benefits related to lower intakes. High consumption should be discouraged as it can greatly accelerate disease and result in early death”.

Further research into the effects of silicon on health are needed, but work at HNR points towards it being beneficial to health, and beer (in moderation) is just one source of silicon that could be included into a healthy and balanced diet.

Mean (range) silicon contents of alcoholic beverages (mg/L):

Beers -
     -Can lager = 20.7 (15.4-26.4)
     -Draft lager = 21.5 (11.7-39.4)
     -Can bitter = 14.5 (9.59-20.1)
     -Draft bitter = 21.0 (13.5-30.1)

Ciders = 3.7 (2.72-5.53)

Wines = 7.67 (6.61-9.24
Spirits = 1.26 (0.56-2.06)

MRC Human Nutrition Research:
The MRC Collaborative Centre for Human Nutrition Research (HNR) was established in 1998 following the restructuring of the Dunn Nutrition Unit, so as to progress the Medical Research Councils portfolio of strategic and applied nutrition research. HNR was set up with a collaborative remit: to pursue research in partnership with national and international stakeholders.
HNR's mission is to advance knowledge of the relationships between human nutrition and health by providing a national centre of excellence for the measurement and interpretation of biochemical, functional and dietary indicators of nutritional status and health. HNR also acts as an independent, authoritative source of scientific advice and information on nutrition and health in order to foster evidence-based nutrition policy and practice.

Well there you have it, scientific proof that moderate beer drinking is good for your health. Now will the fake charities such as alcohol concern kindly stop trying to interfere in the lives of brewers and drinkers in this country? Thought not.