Guinness is good for you!

[Brewdepest]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3266819.stm

Ha - according to this study, 24 oz. of Guinness a day at meals is as beneficial to your heart as having an aspirin regement!

[Richard English]

I wonder how much they paid for a survey that simply found out what all Guinness drinkers have know for years!

I wonder whether they'll start using their famous slogan again?

[b3s]

well, guinness used to use that for advertising way back in the day...and there's a bunch of q and a on health and guiness at the guinness faq (http://www.ivo.se/guinness/health.html).

the amusing thing about that article brewedepest posted is that the AMA said that a beer or two a night is good for your heart a few years back. i think i must fall into that some is good, more is better category ;)

[Richard English]

I was interested to see that, in Ireland, bottled Guinness is still bottle-conditioned. It's been some years since that was the case in England. No wonder the Irish version tastes better!

Incidentally, Guinness's other famous slogan was "My goodness, my Guinness". And it would be accompanied by a cartoon of a zookeeper and an animal doing something strange with the keeper's glass of Guinness. One of the most famous was an ostrich whose neck contained a glass-shaped lump!

Incidentally, in case it's not common in the USA, the expression "My goodness" is a British expression of surprise. (Not often used these days except by old fogies like myself.) Thus the Guinness slogan was a clever double entendre on the word "goodness"

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Richard English
...

Incidentally, in case it's not common in the USA, the expression "My goodness" is a British expression of surprise. (Not often used these days except by old fogies like myself.) Thus the Guinness slogan was a clever double entendre on the word "goodness"

It's still moderately commonly used in the USA, at least in the southern US.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English
I was interested to see that, in Ireland, bottled Guinness is still bottle-conditioned. It's been some years since that was the case in England. No wonder the Irish version tastes better!

That's what I get for drinking nothing but draft while in Ireland! Now I have even more reason for another visit! ;)

Is that the Extra Stout, Richard?

S.

[Richard English]

According to that Guinness site, it's both types of Irish bottled Guinness

[chazwicke]

During the past few years there has been an influx of the old "My Goodness, My Guinness" slogan on all sorts of advertising. They sell reproductions of the posters Richard spoke about and others. Lots of cool stuff out there. As a member of the 1759 Society we sometimes get first shot at some of the merchandise. Check out Ebay for all the Guinness stuff.

[Brewdepest]

Yeah, I've been to several bars in the last few years that have been displaying the "My Goodness, My Guinness" signs, mostly the ostrich one. Also, it was mentioned as Aurther Dent's favorite in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books.

[Bryant]

Originally posted by Brewdepest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3266819.stm

Ha - according to this study, 24 oz. of Guinness a day at meals is as beneficial to your heart as having an aspirin regement!

While this study "shows" lagers don't have the same effect, I totally disagree. Alcohol thins the blood and when alcohol is drank in moderation (1 or 2 drinks) it is indeed quite healthy and does have a similar effect as aspirin which is also a blood thinner. If any drink were to be more "healthy" than another it would actually probably be one of the "girlie" mixed drinks that is fruit juice based or a bloody mary. Aside from the blood thinning effects of the alcohol, you also have fresh fruit or vegetable juice which can help replenish vitamins in your body. The grains in beer do have some nutritional value, and I am sure they are probably tolerated by the body better than any hard liquor, but in moderation, I would imagine the fruit/vegetable based mixed drinks are more healthy.


Bryant

[Richard English]

As I understand the research, it's not just the alcohol, although that is clearly a contributory factor.

The first researchI ever saw was on wine, and that found that red wine had significantly greater benefits that did white wine (the study was looking primarily at cardio-vascular diseases). The tentative conclusion was that the greater benefit of the red wine was due to other trace compunds, and things called "anti-oxidants" were mentioned.

Many studies since have confirmed the beneficial effects of alcoholic drinks and all have found that the effect is not simply due to the alcohol. "Dark" drinks (like Guinness) have usually been found to offer greater benefits than "light" drinks such as lager.

My own feeling (not backed up by anything other than my own observations and field research) is also that "proper" beers such as English Real Ales are better for you than chemical fizz such as A-B's Budweiser.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English
Many studies since have confirmed the beneficial effects of alcoholic drinks and all have found that the effect is not simply due to the alcohol. "Dark" drinks (like Guinness) have usually been found to offer greater benefits than "light" drinks such as lager.

What about "light" drinks such as a nice Munich Dunkel, or Schwartzbier, or Paulaner Salvator? All lagers, all using dark malts in their grain bills.

S.

[Richard English]

I suspect that the full reasons have not yet been established although I believe that the beneficial compound(s) might be common to red wine and dark beers.

The research is ongoing.

[paul84043]

The study references the presence of "flavinoids" a substance found in dark skinned vegetables and the like, The thing that confuses me is that Dark beer is only darker because they roast the grains, so why would a lighter colored, yet stull full bodied beer have less of them?

Unless they are referring to lighter beers as the ones that take less grains in thier recipes.

The health benefits of any type of beer (with real ingredients, sorry Amerifizz) are numerous and extend considerably beyond the scope of this particular study, even moreso for homebrewed beer. They were primarily investigating the supposed parallels between beer and red wine.

Beer also cantains soluble fiber by the truckload, the whole spectrum of vitamins, especially the b complex, and tons of protien and minerals.

MMMM I think I'll have another.....wait, it's only 9:30 A.M. dang.