Beer : Health and Nutrition

112 Chapter Five
Fibre
Various polymeric carbohydrates survive into beer. These may include the dextrin
degradation products of starch with a degree of polymerisation of four or greater, and
which are unfermentable by yeast. There is some evidence that the straight-chain dextrins
may be digested by salivary amylase to sugars assimilable by the body, and that the
branched-chain dextrins may be similarly hydrolysed by an enzyme (oligo-1,6-glucosidase)
in the intestinal mucosa, but any which emerge into the lower gut will contribute
to soluble bre. Soluble bre particularly comprises the degradation products of cell
wall polysaccharides (β-glucans and arabinoxylans). Gromes et al. (2000) quote bre
levels in beer as high as 6 g/L, with average levels in the vicinity of 2 g/L. Schwarz
and Han (1995) report 4 g/L. These levels might be compared with the recommended
daily intake of 18 g (UK). A couple of pints a day would provide roughly a quarter of
the recommended intake of bre. A comparison of beer with other foodstuffs for bre
content is given in Table 5.5.
Comparison of beer with other foodstuffs for nutrient value
From data provided in the UK National Food Survey (http://www.defra.gov.uk/esg/
Work_htm/publications/cf/nfs/nfs.htm) it is possible to compare the nutrient value of
beer with other components of the diet on a normalised basis in respect of calori c value
(Tables 5.11–5.13). This style of presentation refutes the notion of ‘empty calories’ in
the context of beer.
Table 5.11 Vitamin density of foods (per 1000 kcal).
Beer Cereals Meat
Fruits and
vegetables
Consumption (kcal) 380 (l litre) 670 260 260
Thiamine (mg) 0.005 0.1 0.05 0.08
Pyridoxine (mg) 0.07 0.04 0.1 0.19
Niacin (mg) 0.82 0.56 2.2 0.69
Ribo avin (mg) 0.033 0.033 0.1 0.03
Folate (µg) 7.4 6.9 3.1 22.2
B (µg) 12 0.02 0.33 0
Biotin (mg) 0.002
Pantothenate (mg) 0.19
Ascorbic acid (mg) Variable – depends
on addition
0.17 12.4
E (mg) 0 0.1 0.09 0.57
A (retinol equiv) 0 0.005 0.04 0.057
D (µg) 0 0.05 0.14 0.005
Source: based on Righelato (2001).