Could a brewsky a day keep osteoporosis away? Drinking beer may actually benefit your bones, according to a new analysis of 100 commercial varieties of suds.
Turns out beer’s not only a good source of dietary silicon, which is key for bone health, but the silicon levels vary depending on the type of beer and the malting process used to produce it. Researchers at the University of California, Davis performed their chemical analyses on beer’s ingredients and measured the silicon content of various brands.
Pale-colored malts may be the better choice if you want to strengthen your bones, since these had more silicon than the darker beers, like the chocolate, roasted barley and black malt. Non-alcoholic beers had the lowest silicon levels of any of the brews tested.
“Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon,” lead researcher Charles Bamforth told LiveScience.com. “Wheat contains less silicon than barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element.”
A beer drinker could get 30 mg. of the nutrient from just two beers. There’s no official recommendation for daily silicon intake but, researchers say, most individuals in the U.S. get between 20 and 50 mgs. daily.
Bamforth and his colleague, Troy Casey, who are in the university’s Department of Food Science and Technology, wrote about their analysis in the February issue of the “Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.”
Some studies have reported that consuming more than a couple of alcoholic beverages a day could be detrimental to one’s health. So, as with everything else, moderation is key.
“Choose the beer you enjoy. Drink it in moderation,” Bamforth told LiveScience.com. “It is contributing silicon (and more) to your good health.”