10 Really Surprising Health Benefits Of Drinking Beer

Swilling down gallons of beer every week is obviously NOT good for your health or your waistline.

But in moderation, beer has actually been shown to have medical benefits - from improved sexual performance (yes, really) to helping keep your brain sharp.

If that isn’t a reason to head to the fridge and open one right now, we don’t know what is…

Beer can help you lose weight

Beer is widely seen as incredibly fattening - so much so that we’ve named wobbly tummies, ‘Beer bellies’.

But beer might not be quite as bad as we all imagine.

Researchers have found that a compound in beer - a natural flavonoid, xanthohumol, found in hops - actually helps with weight loss.

Sadly, the levels in beer are very low - you’d have to drink 3,500 pints a day to have the same effect - but the chemical could be used to fortify your brew.

‘This is the first time we’ve seen one compound with the potential to address so many health problems,’ said Cristobal Miranda of Oregon State University.

Beer makes you better at sex

Some women may beg to disagree, but one sex expert claims that beer actually makes men better at sex.

Dr Kat van Kirk, author of The Married Sex Solution, says that there are several, proven scientific benefits to drinking beer before sex.

Dr Van Kirk says that drinking beer can delay premature ejaculation - it overloads a man’s body with phytoestrogens, proven to delay an orgasm.

She says that drinking dark beers such as porter and stout can also improve circulation, increasing the blood flow to a man’s penis.

Moderate beer drinking helps you live longer

Virginia Tech researchers found that regular, moderate beer drinkers were 19% less likely to die during a given time period than people who never touch a drop.

Belgian beer helps you digest

Drinking high-power brews such as Leffe could actually make you thin, a study suggested.

Beer helps keep your brain sharp

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that women who had one alcoholic drink a day were less likely to find their mental faculties declining as they grow older.

Beer stops you getting kidney stones

People who drink a moderate amount of beer are 41% less likely to get kidney stones, according to a study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Beer has less calories than skimmed milk or orange juice

Never mind the fact that it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll drink 10 pints of skimmed milk, beer is LOW CAL.

Guinness released statistics showing that its heavy, dark brew is lower in calories than either OJ or skimmed milk.

Hoppy beers can protect against Alzheimer’s

A recent study found Xanthohumol, a compound in the hops used to flavour beer, is able to protect the brain from degenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Beer is full of vitamins

Who needs disgusting fruit smoothies?

‘If you analysed beer you would be amazed at how many super-nutrients there are in it,’ says Dr Stephan Domenig, medical director of the Mayr Health Centre in Austria.

Beer makes your bones stronger

A glass or two a day could help make your bones stronger – it’s rich in dietary silicon, key to building bone mineral density, according to a study in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.