Healthy Hops (photo by Matt Sweeny, courtesy of MorgueFile.com)

Falling in with other easy-to-take health advice such as having a glass of red wine or eating dark chocolate daily, research from the University of California at Davis suggests that moderate beer drinking may maintain strong bones and prevent osteoporosis, a thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density.

Previous work from researchers at St. Thomas's Hospital and King's College London demonstrated that silicon, found in abundance in beer, increases bone mineralisation in men and premenopausal women. The new study has confirmed that beer is one of the richest sources of silicon in the diet. The silicon is largely derived from hops and malted barley. Higher silicon contents are found in pale colored brews, since they are subjected to less heat during the malting process.

Be forewarned, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to an increase in bone fractures by reducing osteoblast function, not to mention falling down, and causes a number of other serious health problems.

To download the research article from Troy R. Casey and Charles W. Bamforth of the U. of California, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, go to: Silicon in beer and brewing

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