beverages

5 Surprising Health Benefits of Beer

Find out why having an occasional brew can be great for your health.

How a Brew Can Be Good For You
There might be nothing more relaxing than a brewski after long day of work or at a weekend gathering with family and friends. And when temperatures soar, pouring a tall, cold one can provide satisfying relief from the heat. But these days, drinking a beer a day isn’t just a way chill out or serve as a social lubricator. Research shows that moderate drinkers, whether it’s beer or another alcoholic beverage such as red wine may actually live longer than heavy drinkers and non-drinkers. The key word is moderation – that means one drink a day for women and one or two for men . So when you sit down for a pint this St. Patrick’s Day, remember these five reasons why this tipple is helping your health.

Heart Health and Beer
If you drink dark beer, you’re in luck. Beer, especially of the dark variety, is a source of soluble fiber because of the barley from which beer is made. Fiber helps lower LDL or “bad” blood cholesterol. And beer increases your HDL or “good” cholesterol, which helps reduce coronary heart disease risk. Beer alone won’t help your cholesterol: Darker beers can have up to 3.5 grams of soluble fiber, but you’ll need about 5 grams a day to lower LDL by 5 percent. As an added benefit, the hops and malt provide heart-healthy antioxidants. Keep in mind that the heart health benefits are mainly seen in middle-aged men and women. Drinking in your 30s won’t help prevent a heart attack in your 50s. Find out how drinking affects your RealAge.

Avoid the Beer Belly
Too many brewskis contribute to the proverbial pot belly, but drinking just one a day can actually help by stemming inflammation that contributes to obesity, according to Michael Roizen, MD. The bitter compounds from hops activate substances (called PPARs) that have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Raise a Glass to Your Kidneys
Compounds in hops, which are used to make beer, slow the release of calcium in bones, which contributes to kidney stones in men. Have a glass a day to help keep painful kidney stones away.

Try a Beer Bath to Soothe Skin
Bet you didn’t know that beer is a natural remedy for your skin. Adding two cups of beer to a warm bath can actually help with psoriasis and other skin conditions thanks to the hops, according to Mehmet Oz, MD . Light some candles, pour your favorite brew and relax with these extra suds, but also note that drinking beer has been linked to psoriasis flare-ups.
Boost Your Bone Health With a Brew
Keep your bones strong with a cold one. The bone-building secret in beer is silicon, a chemical that stimulates collagen production. What’s collagen got to do with it? Collagen is a protein that increases the density in your bones and keeps joints more flexible. Drink hoppy beers or ones with malted barley to get the biggest bone benefits and help prevent osteoporosis.
Source: Yahoo shine

 

Consumer Reports: Too many sodas contain potential carcinogen

A chemical found in many sodas may be dangerous to your health, Consumer Reports says. And no, it’s not sugar (this time).

The golden-brown color of many soft drinks comes with a dose of the chemical 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MeI. On U.S. product labels it appears simply as “caramel coloring.”

Those who say the chemical may possibly cause cancer include the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the state of California, which now limits manufacturers to 29 micrograms of exposure for the average consumer per day.

Foods exceeding that limit have to carry a warning label that reads: “WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer.”

But when Consumer Reports purchased sodas in California and had them analyzed by a lab, it found that one 12-ounce serving of Pepsi One or Malta Goya exceeded the levels permitted without a warning label.
Ten other brands tested by the group did meet the California standard, which is estimated to limit the risk of cancer from 4-MeI to one case in every 100,000 lifetimes of daily exposure.

“We are concerned about both the levels of 4-MeI we found in many of the soft drinks tested and the variations observed among brands, especially given the widespread consumption of these types of beverages,” said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, a Consumer Reports toxicologist, in a statement.

“There is no reason why consumers need to be exposed to this avoidable and unnecessary risk that can stem from coloring food and beverages brown.”
The Food and Drug Administration does not set federal limits on 4-MeI in food, and the data gathered by Consumer Reports show that in some cases consumers outside California are drinking a slightly different ingredient. For example, Pepsi One purchased by the group in December in New York contains four times as much 4-MeI as the same product bought that same month in California.

What is clean eating?
Currently the FDA has no reason to believe that 4-Mel poses a health risk to consumers at the levels found in foods with caramel coloring, agency spokeswoman Juli Putnam told CNN in an e-mail. The government agency is testing a variety of food and beverages with the chemical and reviewing safety data to determine if any regulatory action needs to be taken, she said.

Consumers interested in more information on 4-Mel can check out the FDA’s FAQ page.
In a statement to Consumer Reports, PepsiCo Inc. said data indicate that the average person consumes less than one-third a can of diet soda per day; therefore, its product meets the California standard, even if a complete serving exceeds that limit.

In addition to new federal standards, Consumer Reports is calling on the FDA to “require labeling of specific caramel colors in the ingredient lists of food where it is added, so consumers can make informed choices.”

“First and foremost, consumers can rest assured that our industry’s beverages are safe,” the American Beverage Association said in a statement. “Contrary to the conclusions of Consumer Reports, FDA has noted there is no reason at all for any health concerns, a position supported by regulatory agencies around the world.

“However, the companies that make caramel coloring for our members’ soft drinks are now producing it to contain less 4-MeI, and nationwide use of this new caramel coloring is underway.”

Source: CNN