In our day-to-day life, we hear about several health benefits of fruits or green vegetables, but how about beer? Have you heard of any health benefit of beer? Well, you probably haven’t. But the surprising fact is, despite being an alcoholic beverage, beer offers several health benefits. A single 12-ounce serving is nutritionally rich. How? Lets have a look at the health benefits of beer.

Beer nutritional value

The health benefits of beer are many because it is known to have many vitamins and minerals. A single 12- ounce serving provides many benefits for health than other liquor or wine.

• Niacin- Beer contains B vitamins and as per the report presented by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) national nutrient database, beer is rich in niacin too. One can find 1.828 milligrams in a 12-Oz glass of beer.
• Vitamin B6- According to USDA, drinking a 12-Oz glass of beer provides 0.164 mg of vitamin B6.
• Pantothenic acid- While sipping the beer one may get a boost of pantothenic acid, i.e.water- soluble vitamin. As per USDA, in a 12-Oz serving, one gets 0.146 mg of the vitamin.
• Other B vitamins– There are other B vitamins as well in beer. As per USDA, beer includes thiamin at 0.018 mg; riboflavin at 0.089 mg; vitamin B12 at 0.07 micrograms; and folate at 21 micrograms.
• Choline – The high amount of water- soluble choline vitamin is found in a 12-Oz glass of  beer as per USDA.
• Flavonoids- Flavonoids act as antioxidants and helps to prevent any damage that is being caused to the cells from free radicals. Flavonoids are more commonly associated with drinks such as wine or green tea. But, as per the study by Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute, a large beer may contain higher concentrations of antioxidants. But a beer should not be consumed many times a day. However, moderation is utmost important in this case.

Health benefits of beer

• Improves cholesterol- Beer has no cholesterol, and it actually aims to improve cholesterol in the body too. Moderation is very necessary because drinking beer on a regular basis can tilt the HDL or LDL cholesterol ratios the right way. Beer helps to maintain the HDL levels up.
• Preventing heart attack- Its regular intake reduces the risk of  heart diseases by about 30 percent. Also, it is known for its excellent anti-clotting effect that helps to keep the blood vessels much clean, healthy and free. If we consider the studies, it is found that people who consume one beer daily had, in fact, lower levels of fibrinogen (protein that reduce blood clotting).
• Boosts brain health– As we know, with the growing age our brain become slow to function. Consuming light or medium or limited amount of beer reduces the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Lowers cancer risk- Another health benefit of beer is that it tends to decrease the likelihood of cancer in many people. Beer is very rich in antioxidants and flavonoids and thus is useful to reduce the cancer risk and especially prostate cancer in men.

• Not only beer provides many health benefits, but drinking beer is good for the kidneys too.

  Beer good for the kidneys

  As we know consuming too much alcohol can affect the health of a person severely. It can affect the heart, lead to kidney disease and raise blood pressure. It can also cause impair judgement but beer is that alcoholic beverage whose nutritional value suits our kidneys. There is a slight connection with drinking beer and kidney problem. Kidney stones mostly form when the calcium and other mineral crystals present in the urine coalesce. They continue and grow until become full blown kidney stones.  Drinking moderate beer helps to promote the growth of  healthier kidneys due to the diuretic effects of the alcohol. Alcohol is known to stimulate the kidneys to work harder to excrete the by-products of alcohol metabolism, and this allows us to urinate very frequently. Urinating is a natural way as the kidneys and the bladder cleanse themselves. In short urinating because of drinking a couple of beers stirs up the bladder, prevent coalescence of mineral crystals and thereby reduces the risk of kidney stones.

  Conclusion

  Drinking is bad for health but beer seem to be a healthy alcoholic beverage when consumed in moderation. The health benefits of beer are commendable, but remember not to take it many times a day as it may ruin your happiness in the long run.