Who doesn’t love a cold brewskie on the weekend, at the pool, or by the ocean? There’s nothing quite as refreshing and relaxing as a cold beer at the right time!
Beer is actually a fairly high-carb drink, thanks to the fact that it’s made from fermented grains and sugars. The carbs aren’t the only reason that beer is often high in calories, but the alcohol adds to the calorie content.
Not all beers are created equal. Some light beers are fairly low in calories and carbs, while darker ales and stouts are much higher in both.
But you’d be amazed by all the health benefits you can obtain from drinking a beer or two per day:
- Get more B vitamins — Did you know that beer is an amazing source of Vitamin B? In each bottle of beer, you get a pretty hefty dose of Vitamins B3, B6, and B9. Vitamin B3 is needed to help your body make repairs to damaged cells, Vitamin B9 is amazing at preventing colon cancer, and Vitamin B6 helps to reduce PMS symptoms.
- Fight stress – Beer is great at helping you relax because of its alcohol content. Studies have proven that moderate (12 ounces per day for women and 24 ounces per day for men) is enough to help reduce stress, prevent heart disease, and stop heart attacks and strokes. Definitely a good reason to have ONE beer per day!
- Provide fiber – Fiber? In beer? It may sound unusual, but it’s true! Beer contains the fiber that comes from the various grains used to brew the beer, and it helps to regulate your bowel movements effectively. Not only that, but it will slow the rate at which your body absorbs food, stopping you from eating too much.
- Reduce risk of diabetes – Type 2 Diabetes is one of the major health concerns in the U.S. today, but thankfully beer can help to prevent it! Studies have proven that drinking beer can reduce your chance of developing diabetes by as much as 30%!
- Fight microbes – The hops used to brew your beer contain special anti-microbial properties that will help to fight the germs and bacteria that cause disease.
- Prevent gallstones — Did you know that drinking beer can reduce your risk of gallstones forming? Definitely a good reason to add a beer to your day.
- Boost bone health – Beer contains silicon, one of the nutrients that make up your bones. Silicon also helps to improve your brain health, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases.
- Improve heart health – Everyone knows that drinking red wine is wonderful for your heart, but did you know that beer can have a similar if not more noticeable effect? One study discovered that beer drinkers had fewer incidences of heart disease than those who drank wine or whiskey.
Beer isn’t just an excellent social lubricant that helps you to get out of yourself and relax around your friends, but it’s a drink that promotes improved long-term health. If you want to live a long, healthy life, it’s time to add a bit of beer to your life. Just one beer per day is all you need to improve your health. The calories and carbs in the beer won’t have a drastic effect on your weight loss efforts, and you can obtain all the benefits listed above from that single glass of beer per day!