Recently, a young man wrote to on Harvard Men’s Health Watch: “I am a healthy, active 39-year-old guy. I enjoy a beer with dinner most nights, and a six-pack most weekends. Over the past year or two, I’ve had to let my belt out, and now I’m letting out my pants.” The question is: is beer really responsible for my ‘beer belly’?”
Smith Harvey, editor of the magazine replied: “Whether it’s called a beer belly, a spare tire, the apple shape, or the middle-age spread, abdominal obesity is the shape of risk. Abdominal obesity is a health hazard, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, and other woes. Risk begins to mount at a waist size above 37 inches for men, and a measurement above 40 inches would put you in the danger zone. For women, the corresponding waist sizes are 31 and 35 inches, respectively.
It is common for people describe fat bellies as “beer/pot belly” – that protruding gut most commonly associated with middle-aged men who like to drink beer. Is this really the case or is there something about beer, specifically, that leads to weight gain around the middle? However, latest scientific researches show probably to the contrary.
Kathryn O’Sullivan, a public health nutritionist at the 1st Nigerian Beer and Health Symposium held recently in Lagos, said there is no scientific evidence to support the belief that beer in particular causes weight gain rather, it is the consequence of any excess calories being consumed, regardless of whether they are from beer, wine or food.
O’Sullivan, with over 20 years experience in nutrition stated that in many instances, beer has a relatively lower calorie value compared to other alcoholic drinks as well as a variety of everyday food items such as a banana, a bag of crisps or a cappuccino.
Challenging the label ‘pot belly’, she said: “Moderate beer consumption does not lead to weight gain or abdominal fatness and the perception that drinking beer results in a beer belly is not supported by the scientific evidence to date. Obviously, if drunk in huge quantities, beer will cause weight gain – but so would any type of alcohol or excessive food intake.
The public health nutrition revealed that the much-maligned beverage actually has a number of health benefits that are often ignored.
“While the nutritional and health benefits of wine are regularly promoted, the scientific research on beer is less known and rarely reported. Half a pint of four percent beer contains only 96 calories compared to a standard (175ml) glass of 13 per cent red wine, which contains 139 calories. Swapping two large glasses of wine a day with two bottles of lager could save more than 500 calories a week – that’s 4,800 calories a month and 58,240 calories a year,” O’Sullivan concluded.
Tola Atinmo, professor of human nutrition University of Ibadan and a WHO consultant revealed that moderate consumption of beer offers huge advantages as opposed to excessive consumption of beer. Atinmo noted that beer contain silicon which is necessary for midline bone density, high fibre content, including minerals such as phosphorus, iodine and potassium.
“Research studies found that moderate drinkers (about one pint per day) had a 42 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-drinkers. The comparable protective benefits to wine could be because both contain polyphenols, which has been shown to have antioxidant properties that may help the heart. No benefits were found for other alcoholic spirits.
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“If you drink it in moderation, beer (just like wine, spirits, or other alcohol) can have health benefits. The hops, yeast, and grains in beer contribute carbohydrates, vitamin B, and potassium. But don’t plan to get your nutrients from beer, or to drink beer or any other alcoholic beverage for health benefits. Drinking too much beer, or any other type of alcohol is bad,” Atinmo added.
A peep into the constituents that makes up the beverage includes water, grain, hops, and yeast. While barley is the most commonly used grain, some brews utilise other grains such as wheat, maize, or rice instead of barley for brewing.
The drink is also flavoured with hops that give beer both its bitter taste and fruity aroma. While hops contain anti-microbial properties, hops are a better source of cell-damage-fighting antioxidant to add bitterness to balance the sweetness of the malt.
Humans and yeast have been working together for millennia to create tasty brews. As early as the 6th millennium B.C., ancient Sumerians had discovered the art of fermentation. By the 19th century B.C., they were inscribing beer recipes into tablets in the form of a Hymn to Ninkasi, their female deity of beer.
Other cultures around the world developed beer independently, but the job of brewing often went to women. Tenenit, the Egyptian deity of beer, was female, as was the Zulu beer goddess Mbaba Mwana Waresa.
ALEXANDER CHIEJNA
