Drinking Beer Is Actually Good For Your Health

There are a lot of reasons why people drink beer, a primary reason because they find it enjoyable. They appreciate how beer tastes and enjoy its mood-enhancing qualities.

One thing’s for sure – people don’t generally drink beer to get healthier. But a team of nutrition and food science researchers in Spain have just released a study that has identified a few key benefits that beer may have on your long-term health.

In the study, which was published in the international, peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, researchers examined alcohol-related studies from 2007 to 2020 and discovered four significant health benefits related to drinking beer that kept showing up.

First, an obvious disclaimer: More is not better when discussing beer drinking and health. Even though drinking a beer (or two) daily might prove beneficial to one’s overall health, drinking ten beers daily is definitely not going to make you feel any better.

So as long as you’re not “power-pounding” cases of beer every day, here are some of beer’s health benefits.

Moderate Drinking is good for the Heart

The researchers state that five of six studies they selected for review identified “a protective effect of moderate alcohol drinking on cardiovascular disease.” Eat This Not That reported that this was true for individuals who regularly drank up to 13.5 ounces of beer per week when compared to abstainers and occasional drinkers. We get that this is a VERY small amount of beer, but good news is good news so we’re running with it.

Beer May Help Prevent Diabetes in Men

According to the study “Men abstainers had a significantly higher risk of developing abnormal glucose regulation … than occasional beer drinkers, suggesting occasional beer consumption may be protective [against diabetes] in men.”

Beer is good for the Bones

We like the sound of that, but what we’re really talking about here is bone density. When looking at bone density and risk of fracture among older individuals, the researchers found that “very low levels of consumption were associated with a decreased fracture risk. Obviously drinking too much might be associated with an increase in bone fractures no matter your age, so there’s that as well.

Beer May Lower Cholesterol

The researchers also called attention to several studies over the 13 year span, which suggested that, thanks to the natural antioxidants found in beer, moderate consumption leads to a rise in good cholesterol (HDL) and a decline in bad cholesterol (LDL).

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