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Monday, November 13, 2006 -  © 2006  St. Catharines Standard

Spectrum - What's in a bottle of beer? A full 99.9 per cent of my beer-drinking friends didn't realize that beer contains health benefits. A Canadian brewer agreed that distributing information about the contents of this popular drink in beer cases would be beneficial. He also agreed that it must be stressed that excessive alcohol consumption causes serious health problems. But he soon learned the government forbids beer companies to claim any health benefits of any kind.

It's an asinine law. The government allows food companies to promote all sorts of junk foods that trigger a variety of degenerative diseases. It does nothing to stop pharmaceutical companies from advertising medications that are often not needed and that can kill. I agree that excessive alcohol can destroy lives. But so can driving a car at excessive speeds. Does the government ban cars or curtail advertising them? This is another example of political hypocrisy and double standards.

Moderate beer drinking is not an unhealthy habit. Consider the millions of people killed over the centuries by drinking contaminated water! Beer is 93 per cent water, but 100 per cent safe to drink.

Beer, unlike many foods, does not contribute to heart disease, the nation's No. 1 killer. It contains no fat, cholesterol or triglycerides. Its moderate alcohol content increases the good cholesterol that removes excess bad cholesterol from the blood.

The alcohol in beer helps to lubricate the blood circulation by decreasing the level of fibrinogen, part of the blood clotting mechanism. The less fibrinogen the less chance of heart attack. Beer also greases platelets making them less likely to stick together to form a fatal blood clot.

Beer contains no sugar, a huge benefit to people and our sweets-loving society. Today excessive calories are causing an epidemic of obesity resulting in needless disease and stress on our health care system. Conversely, packaged foods and soft drinks are loaded with sugar.

Hypertension is another major health problem often due to excessive intake of sodium. But beer contains 25 milligrams (mg) of sodium. Compare this amount to the 900 mg in a can of soup, 1,100 mg in a quarter-pound hamburger with cheese, 1,420 mg in a chicken pot pie and 3,270 mg in a Rueben sandwich. In addition, most packaged foods are loaded with salt. All we need is 1,500 mg of sodium daily, but most people consume 4,000 mg.

Important minerals are present in beer. Magnesium regulates the heart's beat and relaxes coronary arteries. Potassium fights high blood pressure and calcium fortifies bone.

There are a number of essential vitamins in beer such as folic acid, niacin, and vitamins B3, B2 and B6. And let's not forget the relaxing effect of beer on both the mind and blood vessels.

A study by the American Cancer Society of 500,000 Americans showed that one alcoholic drink a day in middle life decreased the risk of premature death by 20 per cent.

Other studies show that moderate drinking reduces the risk of macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in those over 65 years of age.

Aristotle was right generations ago when he praised the virtues of moderation. Today, the best way to save our health-care system is for everyone to act moderately in drinking and eating. This along with exercise will help fight the epidemic of obesity that triggers diabetes, heart attack, hypertension and other degenerative diseases.

To prohibit this health message in beer cases is nonsensical and a Puritan reaction that refuses to accept 20 world studies that show moderate drinkers outlive teetotalers and excessive drinkers.

This health message would be an additional way to reach women who drink excessively during pregnancy. The result? Brain damaged children who become wards of the state at huge expense.

Will the truth about beer ever be allowed in beer cartons? I doubt the Department of Health will ever overcome its horror of the word "alcohol." But it should remove its blinkers and compare the content of beer with any number of popular soft drinks and prepared foods, readily available in every corner store.
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