Sunday 16 August 2009

Beer Makes Strong Bones

With all the fuss made over alcohol by various agencies and the press, it's nice to find a healthy bit of news, especially for women drinkers. It seems that beer drinkers are less likely to get osteoporosis. It's no great surprise to me. The best beer is made with water rich in various mineral compounds, including calcium salts. That is bound to make your bones stronger, Sherlock.

The slightly scary thing is this research also shows that beer really does contain female hormones. These plant derived hormones are called phytoestrogens and are similar to human oestrogen. Perhaps that explains why male beer drinkers are prone to developing man-boobs.

Yeah, I know there are plenty of sexist jokes out there on this theme. If you haven't seen any just type "beer female hormones" into Google to find them.....but I didn't tell you to do it, OK?

13 comments:

Sat In A Pub said...

Ah, explains why I'm turning metrosexual...

StringersBeer said...

I think you'd be hard put to find a plant food that doesn't contain phytoestrogens.

That said of course, this is all making beer look like what it is - Food, rather than what some of the medics would like it to be - Drugs.

Unknown said...

Stringers, of course many commercial drugs are simply modifications or concentrations of natural food compounds. A healthy person will remain healthy by consumming a balanced diet. We all know that a balanced diet must contain beer.

StringersBeer said...

How right you are. Also it's worth pointing out that alcohol probably shouldn't be consumed except as part of a balanced drink - beer is best I'd say.

Cooking Lager said...

You wouldn't drink unpasturised milk. Pasturised beers gotta be better for you.

StringersBeer said...

I think I would. Many do.
So can you.
Ever tried it Mr Woolpack?

Unknown said...

Mr Stringer, 20 years ago I lived on a farm for a couple of years. We used to illegally buy unpasteurised milk off the farmer at the same price the Milk Marketing Board bought it off him. It was cheap and tasted better than any milk I'd had before or since.

It seems to have made me no more abnormal than I was before.

I suspect it would kill Cooking owing to him having never been in contact with anything natural. I hold the view that the more we try and save our bodies from bacteria, yeast and other perfectly natural organisms the more we reduce our immunity to them.

Cooking Lager said...

Of course Dave, all these modern chemicals do you no good. Thats why human longevity is at its longest since the tosh of "biblical times". Natural = death from rickets aged 14.

Unknown said...

Ah, but is rickets not caused by lack of calcium or vitamin D? It's got nothing to do with chemicals.

Cooking Lager said...

Everythings made of chemicals Dave.

Unknown said...

Should have seen that one coming...

StringersBeer said...

I've always like this kind of argument - I hope you don't mind - I always thought that relatively high modern "western" longevity was down to good plumbing, reliable harvests & good transport for the food produced, along with antibiotics (and antivirals increasingly). Not so much due to switching from proper beer to pale maize & rice beer, produced in giant chemical factories.

Unknown said...

I don't mind, carry on.