Beer : Health and Nutrition

106 Chapter Five
Water
The recommended daily intake of water for an adult male in temperate climates is
2.5 litres, to be increased in relation to local temperature and/or physical exertion.
Nutritionists recommend the consumption of at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily.
Beer, being at least 90% water, can clearly be a signi cant contributor to water intake.
In regions of heavy industry, beer has long been championed. We cannot ignore the fact
that alcohol exerts a diuretic effect (see chapter 6). Clearly, though, as beer is a drink
customarily of lower alcohol content than other alcoholic beverages it is the more useful
as a source of water. The lower alcohol beers have been promoted as sports drinks, as
an opportunity for replenishing water, minerals and energy to the body (Piendl 1990).
Vitamins
The observation that alcohol suppresses the desire to take up calories from other foodstuffs
(see above) raises concerns about unbalanced diets, in particular that those who
depend on alcohol as a source of calories run the risk of vitamin shortage. In this context
beer, with its nite vitamin content, would be a wiser beverage than other alcoholic
drinks (though, of course, it is wisest to use it in moderation as part of a properly balanced
diet).
Table 5.7 shows the vitamin content of beers and Table 5.8 that of beer in relation
to a range of other foods. Beer can be a valuable source of many of the water-soluble
vitamins, notably folate, ribo avin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine and niacin. As much
as 10% of the daily intake of folate might come from beer in some countries. The fatsoluble
vitamins do not survive into beer and are lost with insoluble components in
processing (grains, trub and yeast). Some beers will contain vitamin C, because this
material is added to protect the beer from oxidation.
Table 5.7 Vitamin content of beers.
Derived from Hough et al. (1982)
Vitamin (µg/L) Lagers Ales Derived from Moll (1994)
Biotin 7–18 11–12 2–15
Nicotinic acid 4494–8607 7500–7753 3000–8000
Pantothenic acid 1093–1535 1375–1808 40–2000
Pyridoxine 329–709 341–546 70–1700
Ribo avin 219–420 331–575 20–800
Thiamine 15–58 59–181 3–80
Folic acid 40–600
B 12 3–30