I’m a beer drinker. Lately my wife and I have been sampling all types of stouts and ales from microbreweries. One night a week we stop at a local bar and try a new flight of beers (5). We fell in love with beers from Southern Tier, Lagunitas, and Hebrew to name a few. With all that beer drinking I got a little concerned about its impact on our health. But there is good news; according to WebMD beer has several benefits such as preventing many diseases. For instance,

Beer may help prevent:

• Diseases of the heart and circulatory system, including coronary heart disease, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), heart failure, heart attack, and stroke. It is also used to reduce the chance of death from heart attack and from another heart condition called ischemic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction
• Drinking alcoholic beverages, including beer, by healthy people seems to reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Moderate alcohol use (one to two drinks per day) reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and heart attack by approximately 30% to 50% when compared with nondrinkers

• Alzheimer’s disease—Developing evidence suggests one to two alcoholic drinks per day can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in both men and women compared to non-drinkers

• Weak bones (osteoporosis)—There is some developing evidence that suggests moderate alcohol consumption in women who have passed menopause is linked with stronger bones

• Type 2 diabetes—People who drink alcohol in moderate amounts seem to have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes

• Heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes—People with diabetes who consume alcohol in moderate amounts seem to have a reduced risk of coronary heart disease compared with non-drinkers with type 2 diabetes. The risk reduction is similar to that found in healthy people who consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol

• Ulcers caused by a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori—There is some evidence that moderate to high consumption of alcohol (more than 75 grams) per week from beverages such as beer and wine can reduce the risk of H. pylori infection.

How to Drink Beer

WebMD even suggests a “Dosing Schedule” for drinking beer “by mouth” (I’m not sure how else to drink it). Alcohol intake is often measured in number of “drinks.” One drink is equivalent to a 4 oz or a 120 mL glass of wine, 12 oz of beer, or 1 oz of spirits.

According to WebMD, the following doses have been studied in scientific research:

• For lowering the chance of developing heart disease or stroke: one or two 12 oz drinks of beer per day
• Up to four glasses per day has been linked with a lower chance of developing heart failure
• Up to one drink per day has been associated with a smaller reduction in thinking skills in older men
• Three drinks per day to two drinks per week have been associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in healthy men
• Up to seven drinks per week has been associated with reducing the risk of coronary heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes
• Consuming 75 grams of alcohol from beverages such as beer has been associated with a lower chance of developing Helicobacter pylori infection. Helicobacter pylori are bacteria that cause stomach ulcers

Read the full beer story at WebMD