I'll drink to that!

August 13, 2002 1:19 PM

I'll drink to that! A bevy of studies covering the last 20 years have culminated into a general consensus: beer is good for your health. With this news, will you consider a lager a day to keep the doctor away? You can always use the Beer Advocate to search for your drink of choice.
posted by insomnyuk (17 comments total)

You might also want to check to see if the brewer of your beer of choice follows the strict Reinheitsgebot, or Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, the indication of a solid drink, which incidentally insures that beer is safe for vegetarians and vegans to drink.
posted by insomnyuk at 1:33 PM on August 13, 2002

Great finding; I'll remember that for the weekend bar crawl! I remember hearing a doctor saying that they've known for years that red wine and beer is good for you, in moderate amounts. The problem, he said, is that when you publicize those findings, some people always misinterpret it and drink a little too much. Which wipes out any health benefits many times over for us... I mean for those people.
posted by Triplanetary at 1:51 PM on August 13, 2002

"Lower risk of death" is an odd expression. Death from something maybe, but our general risk is fixed.
posted by mblandi at 1:51 PM on August 13, 2002

"To alcohol! The cause of and solution to all of life's problems."
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:03 PM on August 13, 2002

I don't care about beer. What about vodka? Is vodka good for you? When are they gonna waste twenty years and millions of dollars on some real alcohol that puts hair on yer chest?
posted by ZachsMind at 2:10 PM on August 13, 2002

Tastes great, wards off death, and also a damn good investment. Who could ask for more from their beverage, really? Well, of course you could also ask for chest hair . . .
posted by onlyconnect at 3:06 PM on August 13, 2002

Well... Almost.

Bodifying Beer Hair Rinse (Scroll down)
Pour the beer into a glass or container and let sit until it is flat and at a room temperature. After shampooing and rinsing, work the beer through your hair. Do not rinse out; the beer small will dissipate as your hair dries and you'll be left with lush, bouncy hair.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:14 PM on August 13, 2002

Heh, that's funny, Zach, considering what you drank at the Meetup.
posted by Ufez Jones at 3:20 PM on August 13, 2002

I don't know what all of you consider moderate, but five beers a day isn't for me... and yet 5 a day reduces risk of death (pax, mblandi) by 10%! Where's that six-pack?

Of course, any interpretation of a study filtered through the media is always suspect, and for this one the source is beer oriented. But I believe!

Now we need a study comparing the health benefits of drinking Miller "The Champagne of Urine" and some nice Belgian beverage, to be chosen by me during a six-week brewery tour.
posted by skyscraper at 3:26 PM on August 13, 2002

I could never quite get into these campus drinking studies that define 'binge drinking' as 4 drinks at one sitting for women and 5 for men.

I mean, hell! 5 beers is just the first 20 minutes of happy hour in Wisconsin!

I define a 'binge' as waking up and not knowing where you are, how you got there or what day it is.

Not that that's ever happened to me...

Of course now that I'm older and wiser, I subscribe to the one beer a day prescription.
posted by TCMITS at 5:01 PM on August 13, 2002

It used to be the case that doctors prescribed beer for lactating mothers--as my mother remembers with dismay. Great if you love alcohol, but, strangely enough, on her side of the family all of the women in the direct line of descent positively loathe it. (Myself included. I can just barely tolerate Kahlua.)

I could never quite get into these campus drinking studies that define 'binge drinking' as 4 drinks at one sitting for women and 5 for men.

I mean, hell! 5 beers is just the first 20 minutes of happy hour in Wisconsin!

LOL. My first year in graduate school, I went to a bar with a couple of fellow students, a small woman about my size (5'3'') and an average-sized man. They each put away a full pitcher of beer, with no noticeable side effects aside from a slightly cheerier demeanor. I, nursing my Coca-Cola (see parenthesis above), was certainly impressed.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:08 PM on August 13, 2002

thomas j wise: you should try mead. It's almost completely honey and you can hardly taste the alchohol. Good stuff, that.

I define a 'binge' as waking up and not knowing where you are, how you got there or what day it is.

I agree, 4 or 5 beers is usually just enough to get a party 'warmed up' and hopping.
posted by insomnyuk at 5:52 PM on August 13, 2002

This became a hot topic of conversation around our house when it was reported in Bicycling Magazine. 1 Beer after a ride is very good for you (and tastes better than gatorade.) 2 is still healthful, but by 3 you are starting to lose the benefits.

Of course we took this with a grain of salt as this was the same magazine that claimed bike riding increases virility in men...something to do with all that stimulation.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:11 PM on August 13, 2002

I'm brewing a batch of Irish Ale right now. Kettle boiling away nicely, the delicious smell of hot barley malt and hops... In two weeks, I'll have two cases and change of nutritious, death-circumventing beer that I've seen to myself, from grain-bag to bottle.

DoctorFes is in! Who needs their medication?
posted by UncleFes at 9:01 PM on August 13, 2002

UncleFes, I'd like to sign up for a prescription, refillable by packs of 6, if possible.

Seriously though, my buddies and I have been looking into brewing our own something (basically something alchoholic that will get you fucked up for less $$). Irish Ale sounds like a good, fairly classy alternative to the oft suggested potato whiskey. How are you doing this, and would it be economical for a budget conscious college student?
posted by insomnyuk at 12:03 AM on August 14, 2002

As something of a minor expert in this field, I suggest shelling out a little for a better product, even if it means going without for a while. The rotgut only costs less in terms of money, but you'll pay twice the price in agony the next day when satan is using your noggin for a mixture of football punting practice, and an open call for jackhammer solos.
posted by hama7 at 2:50 AM on August 14, 2002

And just when you thought the news couldn't get any better it turns out smoking is also good for you. Well not 'good for you' per se, but I'll take any up-beat news that comes along on that front.
posted by meech at 4:16 AM on August 14, 2002