A daily pint of beer is good for the gut.
A daily pint of lager is good for the gut
A study has found that a glass of lager each day boosts healthy bacteria to fend off diseases and infections with the benefits coming from polyphenols - plant compounds that are found in hops, barley and yeast.
The Portuguese team studied 19 healthy men, aged between 23 and 58, who were asked to drink 330ml bottles of Super Bock lager with their dinner every night. By the end of the experiment, there was no visible difference in the men's weight, fat mass or cholesterol and an analysis of faecal samples - taken before and after the study - showed the participants had a greater range of bacteria in their gut.
The research's lead author Professor Ana Faria, of NOVA University in Lisbon, said: "Men who drank either one alcoholic or non-alcoholic lager daily had a more diverse set of microbes."