Monday 8 February 2010

Some Good News About Beer. And A Laugh...



The Press Association reports that a weighty tome entitled The Journal Of The Science Of Food And Agriculture has analysed 100 commercial beers and found that they contain varying levels of dietary silicon, which can help to reduce the risk of diseases such as osteoporosis. Yahoo have picked it up here.

They found that
not all beers are the same, with those containing malted barley and hops having higher silicon content than beers made from wheat. Some light lagers made from grains like corn have the lowest levels of silicon

and the PA author then goes on to claim that
beers made from hops seem to come out on top

That made me grin. It's clear from the comments of the lead researcher that the silicon comes from the barley or other grain used in the mash. I don't know whether the researchers found some beer without hops, or if the author doesn't know how beer is made. The researchers looked at production methods as well as ingredients.

I couldn't find the article in the online edition, but if I track it down, I'll update this with a link. I'd like to know which beers were used in the research.

UPDATE: The full article has to be purchased, so for now I'm off the story. However, there has been some reaction in the health and research communities. Check this out...

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