Beer Benefits

University of New Hampshire students may now have a good excuse to order another round: a recent study has found that beer may help keep bones strong.

Researchers from the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis have found that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon and could help prevent osteoporosis.

Silicon, the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, is one of the major factors involved in increasing bone mineral density.

Researchers tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and categorized the data according to beer style and source. They did this by studying beer production methods and the resulting silicon content.

Previous research has suggested that beer contained silicon but little was known about how silicon levels varied with the different types of beer and malting processes.

“We have examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter wort and beer,” said researcher Charles Bamforth of U.C. Davis in a public statement.

The study, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, found the beers’ silicon content ranged from 6.4 milligrams per liter to 56.5 mg per liter. The average person’s silicon intake each day is between 20 and 50 mgs.

The researchers found there was little change in the silicon content of barley during the malting process. This is because most of the silicon in barley is located in the husk, which is not affected during malting.

They found pale ales showed the highest silicon content while non-alcoholic beers, light lagers and wheat beers had the least silicon.

“Wheat contains less silicon than barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element,” said Bamforth in his statement.

The news, which links beer with health benefits, could potentially give beer drinkers some peace of mind.

“It’s nice to know that some of those calories in beer are actually going to help my body,” said UNH junior Julia Laroche, 21.

“I didn’t know that an alcoholic drink could be good for you,” said Bridget McLaughlin, 22, a UNH senior, “I’m not particularly concerned about my bones because I drink milk and all, but this makes me feel less bad about drinking a beer on the weekends.”

Fellow UNH senior Kerri Rosenberg, 21, agrees with McLaughlin that the study’s results have lightened her conscious. “It’s nice to know that some of those calories in beer are actually going to help my body,” said Rosenberg.

Although the research suggests such potential health benefits, it does not indicated if any clinical studies have been done to compare the bone health of beer drinkers to those of non beer drinkers.

“I wonder if bone density is higher because of increased rates of falling down,” said junior Julia Laroche, 21. “Being drunk makes people fall down, and falling down has a high impact on the bones, so maybe bone’s get denser to compensate,” said Laroche.

Many UNH students, however, seem to not be too concerned either way with the results. “Guess I have one more reason to drink,” says Matt Normandeau, a sophomore who turns 21 in two weeks.

“It’s nice to know that beer can be good for me, but I’m really not going to change my habits because of this one study,” said Rosenberg.

Normandeau doubts that many students will change their habits because of these results. If anything, he thought students may drink more. “This is just another way beer makes everyone happy,” said Normandeau.

Nurses from UNH Health Services declined commenting on this subject. The department stated that it does not support excessive drinking and that anyone with substance abuse problems should contact 862-1530 for help.