In the last years hardly any food has experienced such a reputation boost like beer. This natural product known for several millenniums has become a highly interesting focus of medical research. Even though research is still in an early phase up to now about 3,500 scientific studies on the issue of beer and health have been published world wide and quite remarkable findings have already been brought forward. It has, for instance, been found that beer dilates the coronary arteries, improves the blood levels of “good cholesterol”, inhibits fatty deposits in the internal artery walls (the so called atherosclerosis), and thereby helps to ward off myocardial infarction. Urologists swear by beer as an ideal prophylactic against the formation of kidney stones. Multiple experimental trials have shown that beer might have cancer-preventing properties. Also beneficial aspects of moderate beer consumption in oesteoporosis have been found out. And the list goes on.Until a couple of years medical research has frowned upon alcohol in any form. But it is also evident, that alcohol-based tinctures and drops have always been traditional resources in popular medicine and were important assets of grandmother’s medicine chest. Moreover, our ancestors have always believed in the positive health effects of their daily ration of wine or beer, and this conviction has found its way into numerous proverbs. There was only one catch to it: these supposed virtues of beer and wine had not been backed up by scientific findings.Hence, the unsteadiness remains: is alcohol good for our health or not? The discrepancies are still in discussion. Here is an example of the last weeks: This headline of the official journal of the Austrian medical board was in principal: alcohol is a risk for body and soul. But 14 pages later - in the very same issue - we can find an other article, saying: moderate alcohol consumption is better than no alcohol. On the one hand it therefore seems that we are completely at a loss. What’s good, what’s not? On the other hand, everything has changed.
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