Is Guinness Good For You?

Great news for fans of Guinness beer (it's not actually new news as studies were done years ago, but it's news to me ... and maybe you.) Forget the apple. According to studies, a pint of Guinness a day might just keep the doctor away.

There have always been many benefits to drinking Guinness stout, such as the taste and .... well, it tastes REALLY good. But as it turns out, Guinness is good for you.

Now, before you get too excited and go throw out all the broccoli, beans, asparagus, lettuce and tomatoes from your refrigerator to make more room for Guinness, you'll want to know that the study focuses mostly on matters of the heart, rather than the stomach or dieting.

Here's what they found ...

According to studies done by the American Heart Association and the University of Wisconsin (a school very well-versed in the subjects of beer, drinking and beer drinking), a pint of Guinness (16 to 24 ounces) could help reduce the risk of heart and artery clots that often cause heart attacks.

It should be noted that the study in question did not recommend to drink four, five or six Guinness beers, but rather a pint or two in moderation. Drink responsibly, folks!

Why is Guinness good for you and your heart?

The tests and research indicated that Guinness stout beer is very high in potent antioxidants known as flavonoids. Flavo, what? Flavonoids, of course. It's like combining the words "flavor" and "androids."

The flavonoids, along with the blood-thinning properties of alcohol, were considered to be the main reason why Guinness was able to reduce the clotting of the blood in the two test subjects (a couple of lucky dogs (literally dogs) that got to drink beer all day).

In the end, the test proved that Guinness worked as well as a low dose of aspirin in thinning the blood and preventing clots related to heart attacks.

Heineken, a lager beer with no flavonoids, was also used in the 2003 tests done at the University of Wisconsin and did not produce the same effects in the test subjects.

Therefore, the next time you are presented with a choice between Guinness, Heineken, or another lager beer, I think it is safe to say you will choose Guinness, if you wouldn't have already. Do it for your heart and your taste buds for cripes sake!

As it turns out, every serving of Guinness is made with 3 mg of iron, an essential nutrient in a healthy diet and the cause for early Guinness beer ads stating, "Guinness for Strength!"

Actually, because of the stout beer's high iron content, blood donors as well as pregnant women were at one time advised to drink a pint of Guinness.

Although, I doubt that beer drinking during pregnancy is recommended in modern medicine nowadays, let me just check ... no, it's not.

According to Dr. Cutler, there are many healthy benefits to drinking any beer in moderation, including preventing type 2 diabetes, reducing the risk of dementia, improving cognitive function and sustaining an optimal cholesterol level.

This is great news for beer drinkers as I hate all of those other things and I love beer. Can you say, "Win/Win"? I just did.