Health and homebrew
TroubleShooting
Adam Best • Cincinnati, Ohio asks,
Recently I have been on a health kick. I’ve been working out, taking multivitamins, and drinking protein shakes. This brings me around to an idea I have. For muscle building you need carbohydrates and protein. I know all health experts say alcohol is bad for you, but beer has carbohydrates. What would be a good way to add protein to beer to make it a muscle beer with protein and carbs? Just an idea; so after a hard workout I can grab a homebrew and say it’s for my health.
I am sure there are many opinions about how to answer your
question. You could add all sorts of additives to a beer to make some
sort of beer/protein booster drink, but the outcome would probably
taste like a Frankenbrew. Personally, I suggest consuming your health
kick food-stuffs as they are and not trying to blend them with beer.
The reason I chose to answer this question, however, was not to
suggest ideas of how to add protein powders and carbohydrate sources to
your next batch of pale ale, but to comment on what “all health
experts” say. I assure you that not all experts believe alcohol is bad
for you. Quite the contrary, most health experts these days believe
that moderate consumption of alcohol is good for you. The television
show 60 Minutes first reported on the “French Paradox” in 1991 and
anecdotal evidence suggested that the consumption of wine by the French
counteracted a diet known for rich dishes. Following this report the
wine industry used such studies to market their products. Unfortunately
many of the assertions about population data proved to be incorrect
with these studies, but better research followed.
More recent data shows that alcoholic beverages, not just wine as
some would like consumers to believe, do indeed have positive effects
on the cardiovascular system. Some of the positive effects are credited
to antioxidants, such as polyphenols found in beer and wine, and some
of the effects are credited to alcohol itself.
Most informed dietary professionals now believe that consuming
alcohol in moderation, not exceeding two drinks per day for most
people, is part of a healthy diet. The bottom line is that your
interest in diet and exercise does not mean that you cannot and should
not drink beer. Epidemiological data shows that people who drink no
alcohol at all have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease
compared to moderate drinkers. I encourage you to research this topic
yourself. After all, I am a brewer and not a health expert. I have
heard very interesting presentations at several brewing meetings given
by health researchers. There is a large body of data on this subject
and the data is convincing. I would say that drinking a homebrew or two
at the end of the day is a good thing, and clever excuses are not
required to make you feel better.
