While it isn’t known for being one of the most low-calorie drinks on any menu, there has been a great deal of time and research that has gone into deciphering exactly how good, or how bad beer really is for your good health. And you could easily find proponents of both lines of thinking.
While over indulgence in beer can cause people a whole slew of health issues including problems with weight gain and liver damage, beer in moderation has also been touted with some hefty health benefits as well.
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There is now a new study, this one out of Europe, that is saying there is a chemical compound in beer that can actually help the human body fight off the cold virus. The study was conducted by a well known beer company, for one, but the merit behind it is worthy of at least a little discussion, or further research.
Good Health and Beer – Nothing New. But for a Virus?
The chemical compound is called “humulone” which many experts have agreed, can actually have anti-virus effects. However, there is a downside, as arguments involving beer and alcohol usually do, and that is that you would need to drink an awful lot of the stuff at once to get the benefits to your good health that are associated with the chemical. 30 beers to be exact. And the downfalls to that kind of consumption don’t need medical research to point out.
RELATED READING: The Damage of Moderation – How Bad is Beer?
What humulone is said to do is give the beer drink its notorious bitter taste, but it is found in hops, which is one of the few key ingredients in the fizzy and popular drink. What has researchers wondering now is, what if the humulone was taken out of the beer, and a concentrated version used to fight a cold virus?
The Cold Virus Could Be Fought, But What About Kids…They Can’t Drink Beer?
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Scientists and the researchers of the study, which was conducted by Sapporo Medical University have said that the idea has merit, and that the chemical compound in beer is actually effective in curbing a specific virus: the “respiratory syncytial virus”.
Researchers say that the idea that this chemical compound in beer could provide some insight into the discomforts of the cold virus has gained enough momentum that experts say the humulone could actually be considered to be used on its own. For example in certain drinks that do not contain alcohol or in food that will mask the bitter taste of the chemical.
Common Cold Virus – Time Used to Be the Only “Cure”
There was a time, were no matter what research became available, families were told that prevention was one of the only ways to properly deal with the common wintertime illness. However, now, this promising research has shown that maybe the answer was under your nose all along. While large quantities of beer might not be suitable for anyone never mind fighting off the symptoms of the cold virus in children, good health and proper care of the discomforts associated with it could lead to future plans for a better way to extract the compound found in beer to make the best possible use of it.
