Craft Beer Is Good For Bone Health

Started by Paradox, July 26, 2010, 07:39:38 PM

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Paradox

In fact, it may even help prevent osteoporosis!

For the non-beer-savvy, I'll greatly simplify part of this for you. Hops and malted barley are good sources of a certain kind of Silicone, which is good for your bones. Craft beers generally tend to use a lot more hops and malted barley than mass-produced commercial beers, which use adjunct materials like corn and rice that do not have as much Silicone. Craft wheat beers have more than commercial adjunct beers but less than traditional craft beers.

Lesson learned: Not only does skipping commercials beers and instead supporting local craft breweries help your local economy; it also helps your health!

For the story in its entirety, click here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100208091922.htm

QuoteA new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density. Researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis studied commercial beer production to determine the relationship between beer production methods and the resulting silicon content, concluding that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon.
Details of this study are available in the February issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society of Chemical Industry.
"The factors in brewing that influence silicon levels in beer have not been extensively studied" said Charles Bamforth, lead author of the study. "We have examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter wort and beer."
Silicon is present in beer in the soluble form of orthosilicic acid (OSA), which yields 50% bioavailability, making beer a major contributor to silicon intake in the Western diet. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dietary silicon (Si), as soluble OSA, may be important for the growth and development of bone and connective tissue, and beer appears to be a major contributor to Si intake. Based on these findings, some studies suggest moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue.
The researchers examined a variety of raw material samples and found little change in the silicon content of barley during the malting process. The majority of the silicon in barley is in the husk, which is not affected greatly during malting. The malts with the higher silicon contents are pale colored which have less heat stress during the malting process. The darker products, such as the chocolate, roasted barley and black malt, all have substantial roasting and much lower silicon contents than the other malts for reasons that are not yet known. The hop samples analyzed showed surprisingly high levels of silicon with as much as four times more silicon than is found in malt. However, hops are invariably used in a much smaller quantity than is grain. Highly hopped beers, however, would be expected to contain higher silicon levels.
No silicon was picked up from silica hydrogel used to stabilize beer, even after a period of 24 hours and neither is there pick up from diatomaceous earth filter aid.
The study also tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and categorized the data according to beer style and source. The average silicon content of the beers sampled was 6.4 to 56.5 mg/L.
"Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon," concludes Dr. Bamforth. "Wheat contains less silicon than barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element. While most of the silicon remains in the husk during brewing, significant quantities of silicon nonetheless are extracted into wort and much of this survives into beer.


"More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality."-Robert A. Baker

Lyll

Sure, even my doctor suggested to drink it, it's good for a lot of problems (not only your bones, but helps your kidneys and makes your hair and nails pretty etc.) The commercial beers often contain extra sugar what can cause digestive problems and uncomfortable feelings, but the products homebrewed or made in local, smaller breweries (based on traditional recipes) mostly not.

But being careful is never bad. My friends who tend to have an experimenter mind, made nettle-beer (seriously, beer made of nettle) at home, some weeks earlier, based on a medieval recipe, and I can assure you, it's not by accident that this recipe has disappeared during the last 4-5 centuries. It's surely as healthy as they said, but the taste...
"There was a man. He walked, stopped, looked around,
And he said: 'I'm the pear-tree.'
And the floor got his roots, the height his trunk,
The sky his crown
And the pears got eaten by the beetles
The birds and the hungry stars."
(Attila József: The man told, detail)

Will

Nettle... beer... hmm.  Yeah, I bet that tastes pretty awful. XD
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Lyll

Quote from: Will on July 27, 2010, 11:16:10 AM
Nettle... beer... hmm.  Yeah, I bet that tastes pretty awful. XD

Like the deaden water in a vase forgotten there for at least 1-2 weeks. With a slight nuances of the burnt tyre. I was sure this was healthy, because only the real healthy things can taste so awfully.
It's good for your digestion and secretion, they said, I suppose this can be true, because I was heading off very fast towards the restroom after the first sip... (:

But the normal beer (especially the home-brewed) can be not only healthy, but tasty too, so it's worthy to drink.
"There was a man. He walked, stopped, looked around,
And he said: 'I'm the pear-tree.'
And the floor got his roots, the height his trunk,
The sky his crown
And the pears got eaten by the beetles
The birds and the hungry stars."
(Attila József: The man told, detail)

Paradox

Yeah, nettle beer was supposedly a good remedy for gout and rheumatism. The beer is still sold in the Czech Republic and certain Northern parts of England, where I think it originated.

Never tried it myself, but I have a ton of other beers that take precedence over it on my wish list.


"More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality."-Robert A. Baker

Oniya

Northern England sounds about right.  I have a feeling it (and anything else involving nettles as consumables) was developed because of either shortage of other food supplies, or desperation to get rid of the stuff.

That being said, I really want to start an Internet hoax about the latest exotic vegetable, 'Lion's Tooth'.  The leaves - best harvested young  - are rich in vitamin-A, C, K, and B2, as well as iron and calcium.  They can be lightly sauteed or eaten raw in salads.  The roots are high in choline (good for the liver) and inulin (a starch good for balancing sugar levels).  The flowers can even be used to make wine.  Better still, the plant is very hardy, growing in virtually any soil type and requiring little to no maintenance.

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Lithos

Nettle is the most healthy and nutritious plant growing in Finnish soil at least, if you look at vitamin and mineral content. It even has decent carbs!
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