National Beer Lovers Day 2020: 7 Health Benefits Of The Alcoholic Beverage, #3 May Surprise You

Monday marks the National Beer Lovers Day 2020 and there’s no better occasion to raise a pint to celebrate your favorite alcoholic beverage. There is a growing body of evidence endorsing the health benefits of drinking beer, of course, when done in moderation.

Nothing might taste better than a cold pint of your favorite drink after a long day. But be informed that healthy drinking refers to just five beers a week. It can offer the following benefits only when consumed in moderation.

Here are seven reasons why beer might be good for your health:

1. Improves heart health

Beer drinking is associated with a reduced risk of heart diseases in people who have one-half-two drinks daily, say studies. Alcoholic beverages like beer that are enriched in polyphenols might offer great heart health benefits. A 2012 study says that despite its lower antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, beer offers a protective role against cardiovascular diseases. A team of Harvard researchers reports that beer might benefit people who already have heart diseases. They say having a couple of beers per day prevented death in heart attack survivors for almost two decades.

2. It's nutritious

Just like wine, beer also is rich in antioxidants. Beer also has enormous amounts of protein, Vitamin B, iron, calcium, phosphates and fiber.

"From a nutritional standpoint, beer contains more protein and B vitamins than wine. The antioxidant content of beer is equivalent to that of wine, but the specific antioxidants are different because the barley and hops used in the production of beer contain flavonoids different from those in the grapes used in the production of wine," reads a research paper published in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences.

3. Works better than paracetamol for pain relief

When you have a throbbing headache next time, just gulp down two pints of your favorite alcoholic drink instead of taking over-the-counter painkillers. Apart from helping with a hangover, researchers from the University of Greenwich say drinking two pints of beer can help better in alleviating pain than painkillers. The researchers pointed out that, elevating one's blood alcohol content to about 0.08% might give the body "a small elevation of pain threshold".

4. Reduce diabetes risk

Moderate levels of alcohol consumption were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Men who drank between one and six beers were 21% less likely to develop diabetes compared to others, according to a 2017 study published in the journal Diabetologia.

5. Strengthens bones

Dietary silicon in its soluble form of orthosilicic acid is key for the growth and development of bones and connective tissues. Beer's high silicon content can be attributed to the processing of barley and hops. A 2013 study pointed out that moderate consumption of beer was related to increased bone mineral density in men and perimenopausal women. The study made it clear that components other than alcohol might influence bone density.

6. Prevents kidney stones

Prolonged alcohol consumption might damage the kidneys and put people at risk of kidney diseases. But when had in moderation, beer can potentially prevent kidney stones, said a 2013 study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. When consumed once per day, beer reduced kidney stone risk by 41%.

7. Better smile

Beer can help get rid of that slimy stuff that collects on teeth called "biofilm". Even the weakest beer extract was found to block the activity of bacteria associated with gum diseases and tooth decay, according to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.