A study presented at the Official College of Physicians of Asturias reveals that “the beer belly is a myth”, since a moderate consumption of this drink, between two and three canes per day, associated with a balanced diet such as the Mediterranean, “does not get fat” and reduces the risk of diabetes and hypertension.
The model of men or women with oversized bellies is typical of the Anglo-Saxon culture where large amounts of beer and food rich in saturated fats are ingested with almost no physical activity, the authors of the study have assured in Gijón.
The dietary pattern of moderate beer consumers in Spain is closer to the Mediterranean diet, according to the work prepared by the Hospital Clínic, the University of Barcelona and the Carlos III Health Institute, which has been presented at the Official College of Physicians of Asturias. The doctors Ramón Estruch, from the Internal Medicine Service of the Hospital Clínic, and Rosa Lamuela, from the Department of Bromatology and Nutrition of the University of Barcelona, have assured that the study they have prepared shows that beer drunk in moderation does not cause an increase in body mass or accumulation of fat in the waist.
Beer, in moderate doses, is healthy
The study, which has been carried out on a sample of 1,249 participants, men and women over 57 years of age who by age have a higher cardiovascular risk, has confirmed the hypothesis that beer is healthy. According to the authors of the trial, people who have participated by eating a Mediterranean diet accompanied by beer in quantities of between a quarter and half a liter per day, “not only have not gained weight, but in some cases have lost weight.”
The dose recommended by doctors is two beers a day for women and three for men, always with balanced meals, and provided that people lead a normal life, with some exercise. Beer is a fermented beverage that receives the nutritional properties of the cereals with which it is produced, just like wine those of grapes, or cider those of apples, as explained by Dr. Lamuela.
This drink provides a greater amount of folic acid, vitamins, iron and calcium than others and cause a “protective” effect on the cardiovascular system. Drinkers of “normal” amounts of beer have a lower incidence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and a lower body mass index.
In addition, these people “reported consuming a greater amount of vegetables, legumes, fish, cereals and olive oil and performing greater physical activity,” said Estruch. The eating pattern of Spanish drinkers “is far from the pattern of the Anglo-Saxon world, where the Munich model prevails, in which large quantities are drunk, practically without moving from the site, eating chips and sausages,” said the doctor.
Research has also revealed that participants who drank beer moderately reported higher protein and carbohydrate intake, including fiber, than non-drinkers.