Surprising Health Benefits of Drinking Beer

Did you know that beer offers some surprising health benefits? Image: Shay via Flickr CC.

Wine always gets all the attention as the alcoholic beverage with the health benefits, but believe it or not, beer has some too. One of the most surprising benefits of drinking beer is its link to helping hydrate you after a vigorous workout. Research at Granada University examined students who exercised and then chose to rehydrate with either beer or water. Surprisingly, those who drank beer were even more hydrated than those who drank water, the study found.

Another study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food found that the compounds in beer (specifically the hops) may protect your brain against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The hops compound xanthohumol can slow the development of neurodegenerative diseases.

It’s also been found that women who have two beers per day have stronger bones. Certain compounds in hops may help slow the release of calcium from bones which will keep them healthier.

Not only that but Shape magazine reports based on a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, that people who frequently go to happy hour will be less bound to get sick than those who abstain, no matter the drink.

Beer also keeps your kidneys healthy. Compared to other alcoholic beverages it is better for your kidneys. Beer can also help to lower bad cholesterol because the fiber in beer reduces your levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind.

Beer also is better for digestion because unlike wine, which doesn’t contain any fiber at all, beer has up to one gram of soluble fiber. Fiber plays an important role in intestinal transit.

Are any of these insights surprising to you? Whether you decide to include beer in your regular dietary rituals or not, these findings offer some serious food (or drink?) for thought.