Anything good about beer??
Hi Kid. I respect everyone's right to post, and i know you have good intentions. As you well know, there are many fragile souls here, who really are on the edge, and at their wit's end, trying to save their lives by not picking up another drink, ever, and this site might be their last chance. Your 'informative' post, may well be enough to tip someone over the edge, and get drunk and crazy. Sad, yes, but true enough. I ask you to try to be a little more sensitive to other's, and remove that post if you haven't already. I personally, enjoy your contributions here. Be well.....................G.
Hi Kid. I respect everyone's right to post, and i know you have good intentions. As you well know, there are many fragile souls here, who really are on the edge, and at their wit's end, trying to save their lives by not picking up another drink, ever, and this site might be their last chance. Your 'informative' post, may well be enough to tip someone over the edge, and get drunk and crazy. Sad, yes, but true enough. I ask you to try to be a little more sensitive to other's, and remove that post if you haven't already. I personally, enjoy your contributions here. Be well.....................G.
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When we think of Oktoberfest, we think of beer. In America, it's arguably the only thing we know about this celebration. Since October is also when tailgating, er, football season kicks in, it may as well be national beer month. While this conjures up images of loud men with distended bellies, perhaps it's time we gave beer another look. A bevy of recent studies seems to indicate that beer may well be the healthiest alcohol we can drink. 
Beer has been brewed, in some form, in every culture for about as long as humans have inhabited the planet. But nowhere has it been more important from a cultural perspective than in Europe. When America was colonized, this European influence ensured that we'd become a nation of beer drinkers.
Before we discuss the benefits of beer, it's important to note that beer isn't some magical nectar of the gods. It requires moderation. The reason Homer and Norm have those bellies is that they don't just drink one beer, they drink a lot of beer. A six-pack (a seemingly perfectly round number for many beer drinkers) of pretty much any beverage in a day is going to have some negative side effects, just due to the number of calories consumed. An excess of beer can be especially detrimental for three reasons: carbonation, calories, and alcohol. Carbonation can neutralize stomach acids and this hampers digestion, so people trying to lose weight should avoid beer with meals. Calories, well, we all know what calories do. The average beer has 150 calories. When Homer drinks ten beers, he's consuming over 1,500 calories—before a donut even crosses his lips!
Recent studies have been revealing many positive associations between beer and health. These include a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease, an improved mental state in women, and increases in life span. Drinking beer can help reduce homocysteine levels, lower triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol, and reduce blood clotting. An important note is that a constant here is moderate consumption, but that should go without saying. So let's take a closer look at just what's in beer that makes it healthy.
Malted barley also gives beer plenty of vitamins, particularly B vitamins. A bottle of beer can contain 10 to 20 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, and folate. But mass-produced beer lovers take note: beer's riboflavin comes from its barley, as well as its yeast. Beers brewed with barley substitutes such as rice (Budweiser, for example) contain fewer vitamins.
Both hops and malt add several phenolic compounds into the mix. Many of these compounds are the same as or similar to the antioxidants found in wine, tea, and several fruits and vegetables, all of which have been known to protect against cardiovascular disease. So it would appear that "The French Paradox" applies to ale drinkers as well.
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