A True American Health Plan
The “French Paradox”, that phenomena of the French eating high amounts of saturated fats yet enjoying low rates of heart disease, recently led the British Medical Journal (BMJ) to conduct a study in Denmark on the health habits of wine drinkers vs. beer drinkers. While it is true Frenchy grabs a Big Mac less frequently than the typical American, the American may now be able to revel in the fact that a cold sudsy brew may trump the health benefits of Frenchy’s warm red vino.
The BMJ’s study found that in their studies of supermarket buying habits in beer-oriented Denmark supermarkets that the typical wine drinker eats much healthier than a typical beer drinker. So, logically, one can deduce that wine plus eating healthy plays a part in general health. But what about those flavanoids found in wine – aren’t they the pinnacle ingredient lauded for heart-health?
Perhaps not! Numerous studies, including a recent study at the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Muenster, have shown that “It cannot be proved that there is any health advantage to drinking red wine, for example, rather than beer” and “Studies indicate that light to moderate alcohol consumption from beer, wine or spirits is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality, owing primarily to a decreased risk of coronary heart disease.” Aha! Finally a beer-friendly answer to the age old Vino vs. Beer: Heart Health Debacle.
What makes beer a heady boon to health? Recently UC Davis Professor Charles Bamforth found that beer contains antioxidants that fight against heart disease and cancer as well as several B vitamins, an array of minerals, and even fiber. Health benefits stem from beer being brewed from barley, wheat, rice or corn. Another of beer’s main ingredients, which provides health benefits in much the same way as natural grains, is hops. These beer-essential grains have an abundance of health-promoting polyphenols – the cancer-stopping, cholesterol-lowering, virus-killing counterpart to flavanoids.
And Bozeman’s local brewhouses (aka. Cancer and Heart Disease Prevention Centers) provide many extremely “hopped up ales.. So, whether you ski, snowboard, snowshoe, or just recreacize by taking a leisurely stroll this winter, when you’re done, kick back with your friends, a hoppy local brew, and…
DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH.
