Milk or Beer for Strong Bones?
Do you remember the advertisements that
touted the wonders of milk for strong bones?
Well, ever on the look out for another reason to justify a friendly drink of the golden ale, we have discovered that beer may actually be good for you, at least when it comes to bone health.
Who would have thought?
A new study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that drinking beer may be a natural way to build stronger bones.
Researchers at the University of California point out that beer may help to ward off osteoporosis – a bone disease that affects half of all women over the age of forty-five – and many men too. Most people know that drinking milk helps to strengthen bones because of the calcium it contains, but beer?
Beer for Stronger Bones: How Does It Help?
Beer is a good source of silicon which the body can easily absorb and use. Silicon is a trace element that’s important not only for bone growth but for building healthy tendons and ligaments.
It’s the hops in beer that contains the most silicon, but malt is also a good source - with the lighter colored malts having greater quantities than darker ones.
The good news is the silicon found in beer is available in a form the body can readily use.
Beer is one of the best sources of bone building silicone – although the amounts vary considerably between beers.
On average drinking two beers a day would give a person the equivalent of around thirty milligrams of silicone. Most experts recommend getting between thirty and fifty milligrams of silicone per day.
The Bottom Line?
OK so we’re not trying to replace your mum with her glass of milk every morning. Drinking beer is unlikely to replace calcium-rich milk for building better bone health, but if you drink it responsibly, you can at least remind yourself you’re doing something good for your bones.
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