Beer is better than milk for women’s bone health, study finds

Many women often join the crusade against beer, claiming that it makes them fat and harms their health in the long run. However, they may be wrong. A study conducted by researchers at the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Center found that regularly drinking half a glass or a glass of beer may be more effective for bone health than drinking milk every day.

As always, you should be very careful with these types of statements as the woman’s entire lifestyle and medical history must be assessed, and the recommended alcohol intake is the less the better.

The benefits of beer for the health of women’s bones

The researchers who conducted this study analyzed the risk of developing osteoporosis in approximately 200,000 women who drank beer frequently. They found that these women had a lower than average risk of osteoporosis., a disease that affects the bones and is caused by calcium deficiency. They also found that these women had a lower risk of hip fractures, which is strongly associated with higher bone density.

Experts explain that this is due to the hops contained in beer., an ingredient that is very rich in flavonoids. Flavonoids are a type of metabolite that acts as a natural hormone replacement and counteracts the loss of estrogen in women, thereby facilitating calcium absorption and promoting collagen formation.

Other benefits of drinking beer for women

1. Delays cognitive aging

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at cognitive changes in about 12,000 older women. Researchers found that women who drank half a glass to a glass of beer per day had less cognitive degeneration compared to women who did not drink beer. Likewise, these women had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease while maintaining their cognitive abilities intact into older age.

2. Relieves symptoms of menopause.

Beer is a source of vitamins and proteins that stimulate metabolism and strengthen a woman’s immunity during menopause. It also contains high levels of phytoestrogens, natural compounds that act very similar to female estrogens, hormones whose levels decline when menopause is reached and which are responsible for most of the symptoms that appear at this stage.

3. Increase your folic acid intake during pregnancy.

The Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics says drinking a 250ml bottle of alcohol-free beer during pregnancy can provide a woman with 7.5% of her recommended daily intake of folic acid. Folic acid is an important vitamin in the development of a child’s nervous system and helps prevent the risk of spinal cord defects such as spina bifida, as well as neural tube defects.

4. Improves the quality of breast milk.

Research conducted by experts from the University of Valencia has shown that babies who include non-alcoholic beer in their weekly diet have breast milk that is 30% richer in antioxidants. Antioxidants are essential for protection against cardiovascular disease and the premature onset of various diseases, and are also responsible for reducing oxidative stress in the baby after birth.

5. Helps slow down aging.

Beer has been shown to be rich in polyphenols, a special type of antioxidant that may help reduce the risk of cancer and some degenerative diseases, as well as slow down the oxidative processes in cells that are primarily responsible for aging. Thus, women who drink beer frequently are more likely to prevent premature aging.

It’s worth clarifying that these results were based on responsible drinking, as drinking more than one glass of beer too often can be harmful to your health.