Drinking beer good for weight loss – Study

Researchers at the Oregon State University have said taking beer can help people lose weight.

In the report, which was published in the journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, researchers say weight loss is one of the effects of  xanthohumol, a natural flavonoid found in hops.

The researchers used mice to measure how varying levels of xanthohumol affects human systems. One of the researchers,  Cristobal Miranda, said the lab mice were fed a high-fat diet and given varying levels of xanthohumol.

The rats given the highest dosage of xanthohumol cut bad cholesterol by 80 per cent and their insulin levels by 42 per cent.

The report also said their levels of biomarker of inflammation, otherwise known as Interleukin-6 was reduced by 78 per cent.

The researcher said xanthohumol are naturally not found in other plants except the hop plant, adding that any product like beer, hop tea, or a beverage or dietary supplement that contains hops, or hop extracts, may contain xanthohumol.

Hops

Miranda says xanthohumol has the potential to address so many health problems.

Miranda said, “This is the first time we’ve seen one compound with the potential to address so many health problems.”

“These were very dramatic improvements,” he added

However, he stressed that more research would be required to ascertain that the same benefits can be safely achieved in humans.

Punch