Last Updated on September 25, 2023 by Neelam Singh
Quick Take
A social media post claims that drinking beer improves human health. We fact-checked and found the claim to be Half True.
The Claim
A Facebook post claims that drinking beer improves heart and bone health, removes kidney stones, and lowers bad cholesterol.
We have attached the screenshot of the post below:
Fact Check
What is beer?
Beer is an alcoholic drink produced by fermenting water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. The process involves malting, mashing, boiling with hops, fermenting with yeast, conditioning, and packaging. Different styles of beer result from variations in ingredients and brewing methods.
Does drinking beer improve human health?
It can. The available evidence shows that drinking beer has some potential health benefits. Some of them are listed below:
Heart health: Some studies suggest that drinking beer in limited quantities can be beneficial. Moderate beer consumption may lower the risk of heart disease by reducing inflammation, improving blood flow, and decreasing the risk of blood clots.
Kidney stones: Beer contains compounds that may help prevent the formation of kidney stones by reducing the amount of calcium in the urine.
Cholesterol: Some studies suggest that moderate beer consumption may maintain cholesterol levels. It increases levels of HDL (good) cholesterol while decreasing levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Bone health: Beer contains silicon, a mineral that may help improve bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
To this, Dr Kashyap Dakshini, a General Physician practicing in Mumbai informs, “There have been some reports that suggest drinking beer is good for heart and bone health. Also, these reports inform that beer is also good for kidney stones and reduces bad cholesterol”. However, Dr. Dakshini further informs, “There is no specific documented evidence in reputed journals, proving that people who abstain from drinking beer have a higher incidence rate of heart or bone disease, increased incidence of kidney stones, or higher bad cholesterol”. So, maintaining an overall good routine can improve human health rather than sticking solely on beer.
Are there any side effects of drinking beer?
Drinking beer can be good for the health. However, excessive consumption can be harmful. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website informs that excessive alcohol consumption can harm health and that any potential benefits of beer consumption should be weighed against the potential risks. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to health problems, impaired judgment, addiction, social issues, legal troubles, and weight gain.
Dr. Dakshini informs, “Heart/Bone health, the incidence of kidney stones, and bad cholesterol have multifactorial etiology including race, ethnicity, lifestyle, habits, hydration, nutrition, level of activity, genetics, etc. Further, heavy consumption of beer is associated with type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and low bone mineral density”. Moderate and responsible consumption is key to avoiding these negative outcomes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) website informs that alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of cancer. Surprisingly, the most recent data reveals that half of all alcohol-related cancers in the WHO European Region are linked to light and moderate alcohol intake – which is less than 1.5 liters of wine, less than 3.5 liters of beer, or less than 450 milliliters of spirits per week. This drinking pattern is mainly responsible for the majority of alcohol-related breast cancers in women, especially in European Union (EU) countries. Cancer has become the leading cause of death in the EU, with a continuously rising incidence rate. Most alcohol-related deaths are attributed to various types of cancer.
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