Top 10 Reasons Alcohol Beer is Good for your Health

1. Beer Reduces Stress

        Alcohol in general has been shown to reduce stress. This one is obvious, and may be the best reason beer is good for your health.

2. Beer is Good for the Heart

        A study was conducted from 1982 - 1996 on the elderly. It was found that those who drank at least 1.5 per day had a 20-50 percent less chance of having heart failure.

3. Beer Improves Blood Circulation

        Beer increases your "good" cholesterol, or HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Its basically a kind of blood fat, so it reduces blood's tendency to clot.

4. Beer is Chock Full o' Fiber

        The fiber comes from the cell walls of the malted barley. A liter of beer can have as much as 60% of your daily recommended fiber. The extra fiber will keep you regular and can also lower the risk of heart disease.

5. Beer as a Multi-vitamin

        Beer is a significant source of magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12

6. Beer can Prevent Strokes

        A study published in Stroke magazine in 2001 showed that alcohol drinkers have fewer strokes. Because it thins the blood, it increases the circulation in the brain, thereby protecting from silent strokes which are cause by tiny blood clots.

7. Beer keeps your Brain Young

        A large study, published in the December 2001 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, was conducted on elderly italian men and women. It showed that moderate drinkers had a 40% lower risk of mental impairment.

8. Beer is Good for your Liver

        Alcohol expands the small blood vessels in the liver. This speeds up metabolism so it can help clean all the toxins out of the liver. This is from Beer Net Publication, April 2001 Biological Institute.

9. Beer Cures Insomnia

        Lactoflavin and nicotinic acid, both present in beer, can promote sleep. Also hops are a natural sedative.

10. Beer Fends off Gallstones

        According to Professor Oliver James at the University of Newcastle, beer protects against gallstones and kidney stones.

Alcohol Q & A

Does alcohol affect women differently?
Yes, alcohol affects women differently than men. Women become more impaired than men do after drinking the same amount of alcohol, even when differences in body weight are taken into account. This is because women's bodies have less water than men's bodies. Because alcohol mixes with body water, a given amount of alcohol becomes more highly concentrated in a woman's body than in a man's. In other words, it would be like dropping the same amount of alcohol into a much smaller pail of water. That is why the recommended drinking limit for women is lower than for men. In addition, chronic alcohol abuse takes a heavier physical toll on women than on men. Alcohol dependence and related medical problems, such as brain, heart, and liver damage, progress more rapidly in women than in men.

How is an alcoholic different from a normal drinker?

An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems. Despite information to the contrary, alcoholism cannot be cured, it can only be put into remission. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle.

Just because alcoholism tends to run in families doesn't mean that a child of an alcoholic parent will automatically become an alcoholic too. Some people develop alcoholism even though no one in their family has a drinking problem.
Just because alcoholism tends to run in families doesn't mean that a child of an alcoholic parent will automatically become an alcoholic too. Some people develop alcoholism even though no one in their family has a drinking problem.

Does alcohol affect older people differently?
Alcohol's effects do vary with age. Slower reaction times, problems with hearing and seeing, and a lower tolerance to alcohol's effects put older people at higher risk for falls, car crashes, and other types of injuries that may result from drinking. Older people also tend to take more medicines than younger people. Mixing alcohol with over-the-counter or prescription medications can be very dangerous, even fatal. More than 150 medications interact harmfully with alcohol. In addition, alcohol can make many of the medical conditions common in older people, including high blood pressure and ulcers, more serious. Physical changes associated with aging can make older people feel "high" even after drinking only small amounts of alcohol. So even if there is no medical reason to avoid alcohol, older men and women should limit themselves to one drink per day.

Can a problem drinker simply cut down?
It depends if that person has been diagnosed as an alcoholic, the answer is "no." Alcoholics who try to cut down on drinking rarely succeed. Cutting out alcohol that is, abstaining is usually the best course for recovery. People who are not alcohol dependent but who have experienced alcohol-related problems may be able to limit the amount they drink. If they can't stay within those limits, they need to stop drinking altogether.

Are specific groups of people more likely to have alcohol problems?
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism cut across gender, race, and nationality. Nearly 14 million people in the United States, 1 in every 13 adults, abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. In general, more men than women are alcohol dependent or have alcohol problems. And alcohol problems are highest among young adults ages 18-29 and lowest among adults ages 65 and older. We also know that people who start drinking at an early age. For example, at age 14 or younger, greatly increase the chance that they will develop alcohol problems at some point in their lives.

Do you have to be an alcoholic to experience problems?
No, alcoholism is only one type of an alcohol problem. Alcohol abuse can be just as harmful. A person can abuse alcohol without actually being an alcoholic that is, he or she may drink too much and too often but still not be dependent on alcohol. Some of the problems linked to alcohol abuse include not being able to meet work, school, or family responsibilities; drunk-driving arrests and car crashes; and drinking-related medical conditions. Under some circumstances, even social or moderate drinking is dangerous for example, when driving, during pregnancy, or when taking certain medications.

Long-term and Short-term effects of Alchohol

SOME IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

After a few drinks, the drinker may feel many effects: it feels more calm, he became very talkative, the discomfort disappears, he feels a little giddy. The more he drank, the more effects increase and may become undesirable: stunning turns into headache, nausea and calm in the floor babbling …
Heart rate and blood pressure: In small amounts, alcohol increases the heart rate and pressure, but decreases when consumed excessively.
Kidneys: When drinking, one must urinate more often.
Stomach: The stomach walls can suffer inflammation or bleeding drinker and often suffers from nausea.
Skin: Even if the skin is heated, the body loses heat.

Alcohol affects many brain functions, which temporarily reduces the ability to think, see, act. It affects several aspects that are necessary for “survival” of a person:
Judgment: Alcohol, consumed even in small amounts, reduces the ability to think and make decisions.
Reaction: The more you drink, the more the reaction time increases (decreases reflexes).
Coordination: Alcohol affects physical coordination and prevents proper coordination of movement.

SOME CONSEQUENCES OF LONG-TERM ALCOHOL ABUSE

Everyone knows that alcohol gives cause headaches and vomiting. But alcohol can also damage the heart, liver, kidney, brain and stomach. It can cause memory loss and even some types of cancer.
Liver: The liver alcohol requires more effort and can cause damage.
Brain: Alcohol affects many brain functions and has effectively cut off communication between nerve cells and destroyed a number of brain cells. It reduces the concentration, memory, hearing and sight. In the long term, these faculties may be damaged permanently.
Baby: The alcohol drinks a pregnant woman enters the blood that nourishes the fetus. In case of abuse, the child may have physical or mental problems at birth.
Spirit: The drinker who drinks alcohol excessively develops a sense of psychological dependence and feel the need to drink, often to escape the real world. These drinkers, drunk, do not want to face reality and can become violent with people around them.

One of the worst consequences of chronic alcoholism is the tolerance that develops drinkers. The withdrawal syndrome (withdrawal) is an unpleasant sensation felt by private alcohol drinkers – headache, nausea, nervousness, confusion. It is very difficult to overcome that feeling, and an alcoholic who stopped drinking will always be considered for relief.

Remember: moderation is the best taste, and it gives much less headache the next morning!

How Alchohol Affects Your Body

Alcohol is a clear, colorless liquid that is found in beer, wine and spirits. What you drink is ethyl alcohol or ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH). Although traditionally considered a depressant, alcohol is present in a wide range of contradictory effects. It depresses or stimulates, excites and calms. Previously, alcohol was used medicinally to relieve pain, reduce fever or relieve stomach cramps. 
Alcohol, consumed in moderation, is without significant adverse effects for most consumers. However, the abuse of alcohol can have harmful effects on the mind and body, so much so that it is one of the most dangerous drugs that are for both the consumer and for those around him. About 10 or 12% of the proportion of drinkers are chronic alcoholics or have a serious drinking problem.

Alcohol you drink goes into the stomach, but need not be digested. It goes directly from the stomach into the intestine, then into the general circulation. From there it is distributed in all parts of the body. It is the liver that allows us to eliminate the alcohol, turning it into water and carbon dioxide (CO 2). The liver takes about one hour to remove the contents of a drink. A person gets drunk when they drink more alcohol than the liver can not eliminate in the same period.

What Happens When You Drink Alcohol

Drinking alcohol had both positive and negative effects. These are listed below.

Positive:

If an individual drinks moderately, alcohol has positive effects. You can get livelier, easier and relaxed. You can talk more easily and feel less tired.

Some research suggests that, moderate alcohol use protects against cardiovascular diseases. This means a maximum of 2-3 glasses of wine or beer a day for men, and 1 to 2 glasses a day for women.

Socially, some people claim that it also has positive effects. It provides a lot of employment in the production, catering and retail of products and services in which alcohol plays a part. Also, people claim that alcoholic beverages helps people socialize.

Negative:

When a person drinks in excess it increases the risk of a number of diseases: fatty degeneration of the liver, infection of the liver, liver cirrhosis , sleeping disorders, sexual problems, infection of the esophagus, infection of the stomach, infection of the pancreas, premature dementia, varying from a reduction of memory to the serious syndrome of Korsakoff; cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, intestines and breasts; hypertension and heart problems. Alcohol is also damaging during pregnancy. 

Also alcohol takes its toll in traffic.

Alcohol plays an important role in aggression. 40% of all incidents involving aggression occur while under the influence of alcohol. The police spend 22% of their time on cases involving alcohol. Violence on the streets and domestic violence while under the influence of alcohol happen often.

When it comes to drinking at work, alcohol has big consequences. 13% of all employees on sick leave have alcohol problems. Employees with alcohol problems produce at least 10% less work than their colleagues.

Another part of drinking alcohol is that it can make people irresponsible; for example, getting pregnant in circumstances where they are not able to care for a child.

How much alchohol Beer is it really safe to drink?

It will come as bad news for people who enjoy a daily tipple - when it comes to reducing your risk of cancer, there is no such thing as a safe amount of alcohol.

French researchers said most nations including the UK and U.S. set their drink limit guidelines to deal with short-term effects of alcohol and were not designed to prevent chronic diseases.

Therefore while the UK's current daily alcohol guidelines (four units for men and three for women) discourage binge drinking and visits to the hospital, they do not take long-term health risks into account.

The team led by Paule Latino-Martel, of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, said based on the evidence 'there is no level of alcohol consumption for which cancer risk is null.'

Writing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, they said the WHO International Agency of Research on Cancer had found alcohol to be carcinogenic in both animals and humans.

The researchers added that a joint 2007 report of the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research warned of the link between alcohol and cancers in the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon-rectum and breast cancers. 

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Therefore they said current 'sensible drinking' limits are inadequate for the prevention of cancer and new international guidelines are needed.

'On the whole, alcohol is considered an avoidable risk factor for cancer incidence and, more generally, for the global burden of disease, Dr Latino-Martel and his co-authors said.

'Although guidelines are currently practical for health professionals and health authorities, the time has come to reconsider them using a scientific basis independent of any cultural and economic considerations and to discuss the eventuality of abandoning them,' they said.

'Considering our current knowledge of the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer risk, national health authorities should be aware of the possible legal consequences of promoting drinking guidelines that allow consumers to believe that drinking at low or moderate levels is without risk.

Why we keep drinking despite Hangovers?

You’re not the only one who swears they’ll never drink that much again, then finds themselves pounding back shots of liquid courage a few days later.

Psychologists at the University of Washington say the perceived social benefits of binge drinking often outweigh the downside in the minds of heavy drinkers. In other words, alcohol’s ability to drown social inhibitions can make the next day’s hangover look like a pretty fair price to pay.

“This study suggest why some people can experience a lot of bad consequences of drinking but not change their behavior,” said Kevin King, co-author of the study and a UW assistant professor of psychology. “People think, ‘It’s not going to happen to me’ or ‘I’ll never drink that much again.’ They do not seem to associate their own heavy drinking with negative consequences.”

Here’s how the UW described the study:

Nearly 500 college students completed an online survey measuring their drinking habits during the previous year. The survey assessed how often the participants had experienced 35 different negative consequences of drinking, such as blackouts, fights, hangovers, missed classes and work, and lost or stolen belongings, as well as 14 positive effects of drinking, including better conversational and joke-telling abilities, improved sexual encounters and more energy to stay up late partying and dancing.

The researchers also measured the participants’ beliefs about how likely all of these drinking consequences would happen again and how positive or negative they were.

The findings? Participants said the upside of drinking we outweighs the downside — and that positive effects are more likely to happen in the future.

Participants who experienced the worst post-bringing-drinking experiences seemed slightly deterred, ranking consequences such as hangovers and regrettable sexual experiences as a slightly bigger concern.

Why Do People Drink Alcohol Beer?

This question has occupied medical people as well as laymen for centuries. Specific programs have been developed to answer this question and help individuals deal with their private reasons for drinking alcohol. Of course, some drinking is simply an act of social interaction, similar to having a meal with someone. In these situations, drinking is no more than a normal activity that helps establish bonds and seal friendships.

Beyond this, the question involves the alcohol that is in the drinks. If this is simply a social act, why wouldn’t a non-alcoholic drink serve the same purpose? This is where the physical effects of alcohol enter the picture. We might say that we drink an alcoholic beverage just because it is what everyone else is doing. We want to be part of the group. But why did the group choose alcohol as the drink to start with?

Some argue that they like the taste of beer or a certain mixed drink. This is certainly a legitimate reason for being involved in the social act of drinking as well as a reason for having a drink when alone at home. There are hundreds of different types of “drinks” both in the bottle and as mixed drinks. Alcoholic drinks have been invented and created for centuries to suit the taste of a few individuals or a large groups.

But there is another reason people drink alcohol. The physical effect of alcohol is generally to make the person feel more relaxed. In the medical field, the type of alcohol that is in beer, liquor and wine is known as a depressant for the human body. Taking this type of alcohol in certain amounts does allow someone to relax and may even allow them to “open up” more socially.

The next reason is really a different level of the “relaxation” mentioned above. People drink alcohol in amounts that get them to the relaxed stage then go beyond that to the “buzz” or inebriated levels.
With these four basic reasons identified, it might be interested to know what percentage of the population considers each of these as the major reason for drinking alcohol. The vast majority of people answer a survey question about reasons for drinking by saying they use alcohol for social reasons. This might include the simple act of having one drink to fit in or it might go a bit beyond that to feeling more at ease with a group of people.

About half of those who consider why they drink alcohol say they like the taste, whether it is beer, wine or liquor. They have a favorite drink that tastes good and fits in with the social element of drinking. Not too many people admit to drinking for the primary reason of getting drunk or intoxicated. Few people admit that they are drinking to forget someone or something. The reasons people drink vary quite a bit, but the information gathered is only as accurate as the answers people give.