It was by accident that Trevithick discovered that antioxidants in beer might be beneficial.

"We had worked with other antioxidants, then started working with alcohol to dissolve amino acids," he explains. "We discovered that alcohol had a fairly notable amount of antioxidant activity. When we found this out, we talked to local brewers, and they said it would be a good thing if we followed up on this so they gave us a small grant."

Trevithick's daughter Colleen, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, is analyzing the brewing process, trying to find at which stage the antioxidants are produced. Father and daughter presented their findings yesterday at the International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies in Honolulu, which meets every five years.

If you're looking for an excuse to put away a six-pack, however, you'll be disappointed. The benefits are greatest, the researchers say, when one beer is consumed.

"Once you reach three drinks a day, you actually increase your risk of cataracts or atherosclerosis," Trevithick says. "This is a great argument for moderation, if you're interested in optimizing your health."

Dr. Dean C. Brick, an ophthalmologist at the University of Arizona School of Medicine in Tucson, calls the study interesting but says "there's nothing earthshaking about it."

"We've known for years that antioxidants protect against cataracts," Brick says. "We've known that antioxidants in dark wines have a protective effect, but alcohol has deleterious effects. Alcoholics develop cataracts, too."

Although you can get antioxidants from many sources, Brick does admit that "drinking a nice dark beer is a nicer way to get your antioxidants."

And, says the Pennsylvania study, the antioxidants in beer also might help your heart.

Researchers at the University of Scranton gave hamsters the human equivalent of two beers a day and found that the rate of atherosclerosis -- fatty buildup in the vessels -- was cut by 50 percent. Joe Vinson, the chemistry professor who conducted the experiments, also presented the findings yesterday at the Honolulu meeting.

It may be a while, however, before you hear doctors say, "A can a day is all we ask."

"In medical school, it was a joke that you'd never have heart disease if you were an alcoholic, but of course you'd lose your liver," says Dr. Amiya Prasad, a New York City ocular plastic surgeon. "The vessels [of cadavers who were alcoholics] were always clean."

"But the most important question to raise from these studies is, 'Can these antioxidants be isolated and used without the calories and alcohol that come with drinking beer?' " Prasad says.

What To Do

To learn more about cataracts, visit the National Eye Institute online. To learn more about vessel disease, check out information from the American Heart Association.

Or, you may want to read previous HealthScout articles on the effects of alcohol.

-- BUDdy (A@beer_a_day_keeps_the_doctor.away), May 13, 2001

Answers

Link

This Bud's Good for You?

Antioxidants in beer may help eyes, heart

By E'Louise Ondash HealthScout Reporter

MONDAY, Dec. 18 (HealthScout) -- A beer a day may help stave off some of the ravages of aging.

Although it may sound too good to be true, the results of early lab experiments seem to point in that direction.

Pennsylvania researchers are looking at whether the antioxidants in beer have a beneficial effect on blood vessels, thus reducing the risk of heart disease. And researchers in Canada are exploring whether the antioxidants also can prevent cataracts, especially in diabetics who are prone to developing them.

The lenses of rats and cows are damaged when exposed to high glucose levels, but appear to be protected by the type of antioxidants found in beer, the Canadian researchers say. Antioxidants, which occur in higher concentrations in dark beers, destroy a type of oxygen molecule that damages cell membranes.

But will the animal experiments translate to humans?

"The question is," says John Trevithick, who's leading the research at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, "after someone takes a drink, how much of the antioxidants actually get into the blood stream and to the lens of the eye?"

It was by accident that Trevithick discovered that antioxidants in beer might be beneficial.

"We had worked with other antioxidants, then started working with alcohol to dissolve amino acids," he explains. "We discovered that alcohol had a fairly notable amount of antioxidant activity. When we found this out, we talked to local brewers, and they said it would be a good thing if we followed up on this so they gave us a small grant."

Trevithick's daughter Colleen, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, is analyzing the brewing process, trying to find at which stage the antioxidants are produced. Father and daughter presented their findings yesterday at the International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies in Honolulu, which meets every five years.

If you're looking for an excuse to put away a six-pack, however, you'll be disappointed. The benefits are greatest, the researchers say, when one beer is consumed.

"Once you reach three drinks a day, you actually increase your risk of cataracts or atherosclerosis," Trevithick says. "This is a great argument for moderation, if you're interested in optimizing your health."

Dr. Dean C. Brick, an ophthalmologist at the University of Arizona School of Medicine in Tucson, calls the study interesting but says "there's nothing earthshaking about it."

"We've known for years that antioxidants protect against cataracts," Brick says. "We've known that antioxidants in dark wines have a protective effect, but alcohol has deleterious effects. Alcoholics develop cataracts, too."

Although you can get antioxidants from many sources, Brick does admit that "drinking a nice dark beer is a nicer way to get your antioxidants."

And, says the Pennsylvania study, the antioxidants in beer also might help your heart.

Researchers at the University of Scranton gave hamsters the human equivalent of two beers a day and found that the rate of atherosclerosis -- fatty buildup in the vessels -- was cut by 50 percent. Joe Vinson, the chemistry professor who conducted the experiments, also presented the findings yesterday at the Honolulu meeting.

It may be a while, however, before you hear doctors say, "A can a day is all we ask."

"In medical school, it was a joke that you'd never have heart disease if you were an alcoholic, but of course you'd lose your liver," says Dr. Amiya Prasad, a New York City ocular plastic surgeon. "The vessels [of cadavers who were alcoholics] were always clean."

"But the most important question to raise from these studies is, 'Can these antioxidants be isolated and used without the calories and alcohol that come with drinking beer?' " Prasad says.

What To Do

To learn more about cataracts, visit the National Eye Institute online. To learn more about vessel disease, check out information from the American Heart Association.

Or, you may want to read previous HealthScout articles on the effects of alcohol.

-- BUDdy (Let's@try_this_one_more.time), May 13, 2001.