Beer is one of the oldest beverages on earth, and it’s still beloved by many today. If consumed responsibly, and sparingly, the right type of beer can have several health benefits, including promoting bone density, boosting cardiovascular health, improving brain health, and even reducing the risk of diabetes type 2.
But with so many types to choose from these days, it can be hard to pick out which beers have the most beneficial health benefits — while avoiding any potential drawbacks.
Thankfully, here are a few tips you can use to select delicious, flavorful beers without compromising your wellness goals!
1. Go for Low-Alcohol and Light Lager Beers
Breweries constantly offer new flavors, varieties, hop combinations, and styles of beer. But at the end of the day, it’s good to remember that too much of anything (or nothing) is poisonous. Especially if you’re traveling or looking to reduce your alcohol consumption, opting for lower ABVs (alcohol by volume) lagers such as lite or even non-alcoholic beers can be a healthier choice.
Besides the low ABV, some of these options may also contain fewer calories with a light flavor profile. Plus, some brands enrich their beers with vitamins like B12, which can help promote your gut health!
2. Check the Calories & Carbs of each Beer
Beer can quickly add up in calories and carbs, so it’s important to check labels for nutritional information before you buy a beer. Some beers may contain more than 300 calories per bottle or can- that’s almost as many carbs as two slices of bread!
When selecting your beer, it’s wise to compare different brands to get something with lower calorie content than others in its category. For example, imperial pilsners tend to have fewer carbohydrates than other lagers with similar ABV.
3. Choose Good Hops & Ingredients for Lower Histamine Content
Histamines can be found in food, including beer! If you suffer from allergies or sensitivities to histamines, it is important to choose beer made with good hops and other ingredients that do not trigger an allergic reaction.
High hop levels generally produce higher concentrations of histamine-containing compounds, which may interfere with digestion. This makes it wise to read the list of ingredients before buying your beer. And if we consider the manufacturing process, open fermentation tends to contain reactions better than closed processes, resulting in lower histamine content in the brew overall.
4. Look at a Nutrition Label for Added Vitamins & Minerals
Keeping an eye out on the nutritional label of your favorite beer can help you determine if it has any added nutrients like vitamin B6, zinc, fiber, and others that could be beneficial to your health.
Although in minute levels, some brands may add minerals such as selenium to their beers, specifically because they provide anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to the body when consumed regularly. As always, before buying any new or unfamiliar products it’s good practice to crosscheck the nutrition facts!
5. Interested in Brewing Your Own Beer? Tips to Streamline Homebrewing
Finally, you can always make your own, healthy beers from home. These days, plenty of resources are available that make homebrewing easier than ever! For instance, beginner kits can help guide you through the basic equipment setup, as well as the crucial parts of the process.
In case you need to share your flavorful offerings with the world, advanced software programs like Ollie, help microbrewers manage the entire brewing process, from weighing out ingredients and routing orders all the way through tracking stock levels and ensuring quality control! With a bit of research, time, and effort, anyone can create their own unique batch (or two) of beer!
Beer is by far among the most popular beverages world over, and that’s an undeniable fact. With the few tips above, it becomes easier to choose beers that fit your desired flavor preferences without necessarily throwing your health goals off-balance. Cheers to drinking responsibly!
Article Submitted By Community Writer
