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The Durk Pearson & Sandy Shaw®
Life Extension NewsTM
Volume 6 No.
1 • February 2003
Moderate Beer Consumption
All forms of alcohol taken in moderation seem to have the
same protective effects in observational studies in humans. A new study looked
at the effects of short-term moderate beer consumption on plasma circulating
fibrinogen in patients who already had coronary atherosclerosis. Fibrinogen is
a plasma protein that plays a role in blood clotting.
The patients were 48 males between ages 46 and 72 years.
They were randomly divided into two groups. Twenty-four of them received, in
addition to a Mediterranean-type diet rich in vegetables and fruits, a
supplement for 30 days of 330 ml of Maccabee beer (about 20 g of alcohol, which
is about the same amount of alcohol found in two glasses of wine). The other 24
ate the same diet but received 330 ml of mineral water instead of beer.
After the 30 days of beer (or mineral water) consumption,
only the beer-drinking subjects had improvements in lipid metabolism and
antioxidant and anticoagulant activities. The researchers concluded that their
findings “indicate that one of the positive benefits of moderate beer
consumption is to diminish the production of fibrinogen and its stability,
which reduces the potential risk exerted by this protein.”
Reference
- Gorinstein et al. Structural changes in plasma
circulating fibrinogen after moderate beer consumption as determined by
electrophoresis and spectroscopy. J Agric Food Chem 51:822-7 (2003).
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