Beer is good for you (fwd)

[ianb@sun670.telecom.tandem.com (Ian Bui)]

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Ian

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Beer is good for you and it won't make you fat
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

LONDON - AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE from Dialog via Individual Inc. :

Britain's corpulant quaffers awoke Monday to what must have 
seemed like pig heaven: news in the respected Times of London 
that beer does NOT give you a beer belly, and what's more, it's
good for you. Beer is a "complete food" whose health benefits
outweigh its dangers, and those who partake in moderation may 
expect to live longer, happier lives, Professor David Williams 
of the University of Wales in Cardiff told the paper.

Beer has been unjustly blamed as the sole cause of the mid-anterior   
distension to which certain of its more enthusiastic consumers are 
prone, he said. Actually, said Williams, beer is not the cause of 
the huge abdomens developed by some beer drinkers. It's the alcohol 
IN the beer that's the culprit. "Alcohol numbs your stomach, so you 
can't always tell when it is full," he said.

And another thing. It's not the beer that makes you want to stuff 
your face with salted peanuts in between gulps, but rather the 
carbon dioxide IN the beer. But on the plus side, while the carbon
dioxide may make you want to eat more carbohydrates, it also helps 
you digest them by promoting the production of stomach acid.

Beer contains no fat, no sugar, and only "worthwhile" quantities of   
carbohydrates, protein and vitamins. And with its 93 percent water 
content it is an excellent source of the four pints of water doctors 
say we should all drink every day to stay healthy, Williams points out.

Beer is better for you than fizzy soft drinks because it won't rot the   
teeth, and it contains a lot fewer additives, preservatives and other 
bad stuff because these are sopped up and discarded with the yeast used 
in brewing. Williams, who wrote a treatise on the wonders of beer for 
the journal 'Chemistry' in Britain, wants to dispel some of the myths 
surrounding what he considers a fine beverage dating back to 3500 BC.  

It is fulfilling, nutritious and relaxing, he said. "When used as part 
of a balanced diet, beer is beneficial for human health, and the 
infrequent mishap resulting from a little over-indulgenceis no reason 
to brand beer as contrary to our well-being."