BEER

BENEFITS
• Is lower in alcohol concentrations than wine and hard liquor.
• Contains modest amounts of niacin, folate, vitamin B6, and some minerals.

DRAWBACKS
• Over consumption can cause unwanted weight gain and obesity.
• Heavy drinking can lead to inebriation and alcoholism.
• Causes feelings of aggression in some people.

Historians believe that humans began to brew beer some time around 500 B.C in what is now Iraq and Egypt. Barely, the grain that still dominates beer brewing was abundant in that region. Nonetheless, almost every society worldwide has independently developed ways of making beer from local cereal grains: African tribes use sprouted corn, millet, and sorghum; Russians turn rye bread into low alcohol beer called kvass; the Chinese and Japanese use rice; and South and Central American Indians rely on corn to make their respective beers.

THRE BREWING PROCESS
Although many societies around the world continue to use their traditional methods to make beer, modern brewing is a scientific process that begins with malting to convert grain starch into sugar that will ferment. To do this, the grain is sprouted in order to activate enzymes that will eventually turn the starch into sugar. The precise methods vary according to the type of beer being produced, the sprouts are removed, and the malted grain is then prepared for mashing. The malt is heated slowly to allow the enzymes to continue converting starch into a sugary broth called wort. The grain is allowed to settle, and the wort is heated and filtered through it into the brewing kettles. (The grains are then rinsed and salvaged for livestock feed.)
Hops, which are dried flowers from the hop vine, are added to the wort, and the mixture is boiled and then strained. (The used hops are added to livestock fee.) The wort is allowed to settle so that the protein can be removed; the clear liquid is then fermented with yeast and aged. Eventually, yeast residue is skimmed off and used as a nutritional supplement (brewer’s yeast) or added to livestock feed. The process may be varied and other ingredients added to give beer a distinctive flavor, color, or aroma. Adding extra hops produces the British draft beer known as bitters; ale, a more concentrated beer, uses a type of yeast that rises to the top; stout is a bitter ale brewed from a dark malt.
The specific brewing method influences the nutritional quality of beer. The cloudy German weisse bier, for example, retains many of the B vitamins found in brewer’s yeast, but these are strained away to make clear beer.
Native African beers remain unfiltered; as a result, they retain many of the nutrients found in the grains and roots and tubers that are their main ingredients.
The type of yeast used by American and Canadian brewers contains selenium, and anti-oxidant mineral, and chromium, a mineral that aids carbohydrate metabolism.


NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF BEER
Beer’s nutritional value is often overstated because most of the nutrients in grain are lost in the brewing process. About two-thirds of the 150 calories in 12oz (355 ml) of ordinary beer come from the alcohol itself, with one-third coming from sugars; in contrast, only a trace of protein remains after brewing and straining. A 12oz (355 ml) bottle of ordinary beer provides 5 to 10 percent or more of the RDAs of folate, niacin, vitamin B6, and phosphorus, as well as significant amounts of chromium and selenium.


HOW MUCH IS GNOUGH?
Typically, the alcohol content of beer ranges from 3 to 8 percent, compared to an average of 12 percent in wine, and about 40 to 50 percent in hard liquor. Some people who are very sensitive to alcohol will react almost immediately to even this modest amount, often with feelings of aggression. Many people, however, can consume 1 liter of fluid produces an uncomfortable feeling of fullness, most beer drinkers usually stop before they become inebriated. Even so, drinking 1 liter of beer may yield up to 600 calories, which can result in weight gain, and the excessive urination resulting from the diuretic effect of the alcohol can wash away important vitamins and minerals before the body can absorb them. Contrary to popular belief, chronic overconsumption of beer can very much lead to problem drinking and even alcoholism.
Watch what you eat with beer. Beer is frequently served with nuts, potato chips, pretzels, and other salty foods. Because these increase feelings of thirst, they actually promote consumption of excessive amounts of beer. Foods that are high in protein, vitamins, and minerals and moderate in fat are better alternatives; for example, eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, or whole grain bread or cracker, pasta, and legumes.

BEER FOR THE AGES A long-term study found that 20-50 percent of men and women with a average age of 74 bettered their chance of avoiding heart failure when they had at least 1.5 drinks daily.

BEER AND HEALTH A medical study examined the beer-drinking habits of a group of people who had a heart attack, as well as of a group randomly selected from the Czech population. The Czech Republic is especially appropriate for such a study because it is a country of beer drinkers. Perhaps surprisingly, in both groups, the lowest risk for heart attack was found in men who drank about 5.2 to 11.3 liters of beer a week. Their risk was a third of that seen in the men who never drank beer. But if they drank more, the protection was lost and problems appeared! Dark beer seems to be especially protective. It was even found to reduce the potential harm caused by the notorious “heterocyclic aromatic amines” (HAAs) that form when food is heated to a high temperature. Serving dark beer at a barbecue is a good idea. Beer’s cardiovascular benefits are likely due to polyphenols, those pigmented antioxidants that are also found in fruits, tea and wine. Researchers have found the structure of fibrinogen, a protein in the blood responsible for clotting. In a study of men who had undergone bypass surgery, they found that beer a day were less likely to form blood clots, and at reduced risk for heart attacks and stokes.