Reduces Risk of Heart Disease
All alcohol, whether it is beer, wine, or liquor, is known to help reduce heart disease. According to a 2008 article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, moderate consumption of alcohol makes blood less sticky, and so it is less likely to clot. Alcohol can also increase good cholesterol and lower the bad, as well as lower your blood pressure. A Harvard study of 70,000 women found that those who consumed beer had a lower blood pressure than those who consumed wine or hard alcohol.
Helps the Kidneys
Alcohol gets a bad wrap for being hard on your kidneys, but beer can actually help in that department. According to the 2011 ADA Times, beer can actually reduce your risk of kidney stones. The hops not only help slow the release of calcium from the bones — too much calcium can cause kidney stones — but beer also has a high water content, which helps clear out those kidneys.
Packed with Nutrition
Beer is a surprising source of many nutrients. One 12-ounce beer has around one gram of fiber. It is also packed with B vitamins like niacin, pantothenic acid, folate, riboflavin, and vitamins B6 and B12. It is also rich in silicon, a nutrient that is said to help strengthen bones.
Reduces Risk of Diabetes
In 2011, Harvard did a study of 38,000 middle-aged men which showed that, when they upped their intake of beer to two a day, they dropped their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25 percent. There was, however, no noted benefit from drinking more than two beers a day.
Reduces Risk of Cancer
Just putting your meat in a marinade of beer can eliminate almost 70 percent of carcinogens from the meat, a Portuguese study found. That might not transfer to drinking the beer, but who doesn’t love a good beer marinade? If you do just drink it, though, it does contain loads of helpful antioxidants that can keep you healthy.
Increases Brain Health
Researchers think that a few beers a day can also stave off Alzheimer’s and can reduce your risk of stroke. In 2005, a study was done of 11,000 older women, and those who had one beer a day had better mental function than those who didn't. In fact, they decreased their risk of mental decline by as much as 20 percent. The Harvard School of Public Health also did a study that showed that a few beers a day might reduce the risk of stroke by thinning the blood and preventing blood clots from traveling to the brain.
A frequent tactic of anti-abortion activists is to let women know the restrictions on their rights is to “help” them make better choices. There’s a long history in this approach, and one that is steeped in the belief that women are such inferior creatures that, like juveniles, only well-intentioned men can make certain decisions for them.
The latest incarnation of these “helping” strategy showed up in Minnesota, where a Brainerd-based nonprofit announced its plan to start stocking pregnancy kits at bars and restaurants so they can “help” expectant mothers avoid prenatal exposure to alcohol.
As of now the take-a-pregnancy-test-before-we’ll-serve-you-alcohol is purely voluntary and limited to Minnesota. But the group behind it has big plans. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
The nonprofit seeks to make pregnancy tests available “worldwide in locations where women can test before drinking alcohol rather than waiting until a month or two into the pregnancy,” according to executive director and founder Jody Crowe. He said he hopes eventually to install dispensers in women’s restrooms at bars, gas stations, shopping malls, fitness centers and other locations “to target those at high risk for unexpect[ed] pregnancies.”
If it truly is a crack at addressing the problem of fetal alcohol syndrome it certainly is an indirect way to target it. Crowe’s own conclusion that the demographic most likely to drink while pregnant consists of financially stable women, in urban areas, over age 30 which is why the pregnancy tests are appearing first in upscale bars and restaurants. But research on fetal alcohol syndrome rates show 3.0 per 1000 live births among Native Americans compared to a rate of 0.6 per 1000 live births among Blacks and 0.1 per 1000 live births among Whites. There’s nothing in Crowe’s “helping” that actually addresses the populations most at risk for drinking to the point of FAS. And that’s because it was never intended to.
Once the test, and expectations that women take them, are normalized, the voluntary nature goes away. We’re already prosecuting women for failed pregnancies and mental illness. Before long we’ll be “helping” them by monitoring their menstrual cycle and registering each pregnancy for state-monitoring.
At its simplest, beer is made from four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. On first glance, it would seem that this short ingredient list means there’s nothing to keep vegans and vegetarians from enjoying a frosty brew with the rest of us. The reality is slightly more complicated.
Many breweries (including Guinness!) use animal products in the brewing process, reports the No Meat Athlete. Like wine makers, breweries typically use animal by-products clarifying agents, but animal parts are also used for head retention, flavor and coloring. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
- Isinglass – Comes from the dried swim bladders of fish. Almost all cask conditioned ale uses isinglass as a clarifier, although it is more common in England than the U.S.
- Gelatin – A clarifier obtained from the skin, connective tissue and bones of animals. Typically taken from cattle and frozen pigskin.
- Casein/Potassium Caseinate – Protein found in cow milk used as a clarifier.
- Insects – Made into dyes and used for coloring.
- Albium – Refers to any protein that is water soluble. Most common type in brewing is serum albumin, which is taken from animal blood.
Because no law requires brewers to disclose these ingredients on the label, most vegans are hesitant to belly up to the same key as most meat eaters. But being vegan is no reason to avoid beer altogether. Simply look for one of these flavorful varieties instead–perfect for a vegan-friendly St. Patrick’s Day!
Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout by Anderson Valley Brewing Company – Delivers a deep ebony color, voluptuous mahogany head and bold, roasty flavors for those who aren’t afraid of a real stout. Aromas of freshly baked bread, espresso and dried cherries meld seamlessly with rich toffee flavors and a creamy mouth.
Ranger IPA by New Belgium - This clear amber beauty bursts at the starting gate with an abundance of hops: Cascade (citrus), Chinook (floral/citrus) and Simcoe (fruity) lead off the beer, with Cascade added again for an intense dry hop flavor. And it’s label is green, so it’s perfect to prevent pinches.
Irish Red by O’Hara’s - Formerly known as Moling’s Red Ale and now carrying the family name of the brewery founders, this full-bodied Irish red, ruby in colour, is fruity and aromatic with a distinctive hop character balanced with a generous blend of sweet malts and has a distinctive roast finish. (Note: Carlow Brewing’s entire suite is vegan-friendly. That means any of the O’hara’s brews, or Curim, their Celtic wheat beer.)
Hard Cider by Bulmer’s – Not a beer drinker? No worries. You can still unleash your inner leprechaun with a glass of Bulmer’s cider, which is made in Ireland. HOWEVER, only the pear and berry ciders are free of animal products–the original and light are not.
Irish Lager by Rogue Brewery - An Irish style lager with a smooth mellow flavor and an apple crisp finish, made right here in the USA! Silver medalist in the 2010 World Beer Championships.
Thanks & Regards
Manu
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