Beer Consumption: Health Effects

Background: Beer is one of the most seasoned and most broadly expended alcoholic beverages on the planet and is the third most commonly consumed drink after water and tea world over.Aim: The aim of this review article was to study the health effects of beer consumption and compare the positive effects of consumption of wine, beer and spirits when consumed in moderation.Methods: Literature was searched in the form of epidemiological studies, prospective studies and clinical trials and the health effects of different alcoholic beverages were studied and compared when consumed in moderation.Moderate consumption of beer was defined as non bingeing utilization of 1 beverage for every day in ladies and upto 2 beverages for each day in men. Conclusion:Although alcohol consumption is a two-sided coin, moderate alcohol consumption in the form of wine or beer has been shown to have a protective role for the cardiovascular system and in addition to being anti-carcinogenic.Both wine and beer consumption in moderation have been associated with health benefits, but to a lesser degree with beer as compared to that of wine , probably because of beer's lower phenolic content.Healthy effects of wine and beer are greater in combination with a healthy diet.The main protective effects on the cardiovascular system and cancer resulting from moderate wine and beer intake is mainly due to their common components, alcohol and polyphenols.The general recommendations are one drink (150mL of wine or 10g of alcohol) daily for women and two drinks (300mL of wine or 20g of alcohol) daily for men.