Beer : Health and Nutrition

The Basics of Human Nutrition 89
The values in Table 4.1 presuppose ‘normal’ conditions of health and activity. The
number of calories required will vary depending upon the amount of physical exertion.
For a male the range might be 2500 through to 5000 kcal per day for the most
physically demanding lifestyles. Clearly a foodstuff rich in lipid, and to an only slightly
lesser extent alcohol, allows the consumer to take in the energy in a more concentrated
form. This must be balanced with satisfying the other nutritional needs as delineated
in Table 4.1. Balance is the key word. There are real concerns, for instance, about the
tendency of people to shift to sugar-rich drinks as an alternative to, for example, milk.
A consequence might be a de ciency in the intake of calcium.
In the US, dietary recommendations are also encapsulated within a food pyramid
(Fig. 4.1), which was developed by the US Department of Agriculture. The higher up
in the pyramid, the more sparing the intake should be. Its emphasis is a plant-based diet
high in bre, rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in fat. Beer as a grain-based foodstuff
clearly would feature in the lower part of the pyramid, accepting that considerable
processing has taken the added-value product away from the whole grain.
Other pyramids exist. Two of relevance are the Mediterranean pyramid (Fig. 4.2) and
the California pyramid (Fig. 4.3). The former recognises the so-called French Paradox
(see Chapter 6), which describes the lower than expected incidence of heart disease and
some cancers in Mediterranean countries. This has been ascribed by some to antioxidants
but by others to alcohol. In particular much has been written about the merits of red wine
Fig. 4.1 The food pyramid. Reproduced courtesy of US Department of Agriculture and US Department of
Health and Nutrition Services.