BEER, MODERATE DRINKING FOR GOOD HEALTH - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

BEER, MODERATE DRINKING FOR GOOD HEALTH  - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

After 4 decades at sea, I can safely say that I have drunk about 8 tonnes of beer, almost every major brand available on the planet.   

So I guess my knowledge of beer is NOT purely pedestrian. I can tell you drinking 2 cans of mild beer a day is good for your health.  By this I do NOT mean to consume glycerin put in Indian beers.

When I come home on leave , I am forced to drink Indian make beer. 

Nowadays modern brands like Kingfisher are OK.   

But in the seventies and eighties , beers in one litre brown bottles had TOO MUCH glycerin in it, which is NOT good for health, and gave you a hangover.  

In USA adding glycerin in beer is banned.

None of the Indian beers print on the label how much Glycerin they add.  Although the real glycerin is sweet in taste, added with beer may cause a bitter taste at the end.  Its better to remove this before consuming, but let me warn you after this the beer tastes like horse piss.

I will now play a video ( below ) demonstrating how to remove this unwanted thing from Indian beers, using a good brand. 

From the large brown beer bottles , the big glass gets filled with glycerin at the bottom causing ALL the water on top to overflow out of the glass.  Why don't you try this yourself.  

Like I said, the glycerin in the glass will taste bitter and YUCK!  And the beer remaining in the bottle , with the glycerin removed, will taste DOUBLE YUCK!!

Many people have asked me – Captain, which is your favourite beer?

When I say TSINGTAO ( This Shit Is No Good Try Another One ) beer , they exclaim what?   For none of them have ever heard of it.

China had just opened out the bamboo door in 1986, and my ship was the first in Qingdao ( Tsingtao ) dry dock.

One evening we had a dinner hosted by the shipyard, a 30 course dinner.  The yard Chairman , the ex-weightlifting champ of China was sitting next to me and we were talking about Fa hien ( Faxian ), the famous Chinese traveller who walked all the way accross India.  

So I told him that Fa hien came to indian in 399 AD and took away  a truckload of books ( Astronomy, , Science ,  Math, Medicine ,  Buddhist philosophy etc ) from India.  

He got it translated to Chinese by using an Indian by the name of Shramana Buddha Bhadra  ( Ba Tuo ) whom he took along  with him to Ceylon and then to Lao shan in 399 BC .  Ba Tuo was the first monk at Shaolin temple.  

Faxian wrote that he saw demons ( rakhasas ) in Ceylon , exactly as mentioned in Ramayana of 4300 BC. Probably he saw taller versions of  Jayasurya, the cricket player .

So the Chairman told me that the beer I am drinking has water taken from Lao shan spring water falls, and that he would arrange for a visit , the next Sunday, to see the place , 30 kilometers from the yard , where Faxian stayed till he died at a ripe old age. This is on top of a mountain.

This Laoshan springs  is something out of the world--crystal clear living water. No wonder the pilsner beer Tsingtao was so good.  

And I told him so, that this beer is the best I had ever drunk. It was a brewery started by the Germans who occupied that area in 1905. 

Today Tsingtao beer is one of the best known brands in the world, and they don’t need to advertise in the West.  All because of the good effects of this beer on human health .

The 2008 American drama film Gran Torino, directed by, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood, features Clint Eastwood drinking Tsingtao beer at a party thrown by Hmong neighbors.  So the Yanks said in all their wisdom– what is good for Dirty Harry is good for us too.

All right, let me get to the subject.

First things first.

Contraditions: Pregnant or breast-feeding women should not drink beer.  Even small amounts of alcohol can damage a developing fetus. People with alcoholism or drug addictions should not drink beer.  People with liver, and pancreatic disease should speak should avoid it, unless their doctor says ok.. People with gout must know that severe pain is triggered by alcohol.

The wine lobby has put wine on moral high ground.  But hey, but beer deserves just the same acclamation and it is healthier,  thirst quenching and easier on the pockets.

I am NOT advocating strong beer. Just less than one litre of mild beer a day.  It decreases the risks of aging.  Such drinkers have a lower risk of dementia in old age than non-drinkers.

I am NOT advocating beer as medicine. Beer is something to enjoy, without any guilt attached. As a captain on a ship , when I make a service report on the sobriety column , a teetotaler gets same marks as one who uses his drinks wisely, to bridge divides and to run a happy show. Beer is considered to be a social lubricant.

In moderation,beer is part of a wholesome diet.  Beer has fewer calories per 100ml than wine, spirits, and even orange juice. So all this talk about a beer belly is all bullshit. Anything excessive is bad, even drinking water or breathing oxygen. 

People who eat excessively and never seen beer in their lives still can have a gargantuan belly. Men generally gain weight around their abdomen while woman generally gain weight all over, it is as simple as that.  Alcohol metabolises to sugar, which in excess metabolises to fat.

All alcoholic beverages, including beer, have been shown to boost HDL, the "good" cholesterol, lower LDL the "bad" cholesterol and thin the blood, to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. 

Moderate alcohol consumption, which is one 12 oz beer a day for women and two for men, has also been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and improved brain function in older adults.

Carbohydrates in beer serve as an energiser - they are easily digested and provide the body with quickly available energy.

Beer comprises of 93% water. It is made from malted barley, cereals, hops, yeast and water. Carbohydrates in the beer are in liquid form which means they can be assimilated quickly by the body. It is a low alcohol beverage (4.5%) in comparison with wine (12%) and spirits such as vodka or whisky (45%). 

This means less pure alcohol entering the body. 100ml of a 5 per cent lager contained 43 calories, compared to the 84 calories of the same quantity of a 12 per cent white wine.

The digestive system is not taxed. It is an effective aperitif . The only natural drinks with fewer calories than beer are plain tea, black coffee and water.

Moderate drinkers live longer and better than drunks or teetotalers. Beer is perfect for moderate drinking because of its lower alcohol content and larger volume compared with wine or spirits.

Beer contains over 30 different minerals that come from malted barley . Beer contains significant amounts of nutrients, including magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin and chromium.  

According to the United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database, one 12-ounce ( 355 ML or CC ) serving of regular beer has the following nutrients:

Calcium: 14 mg

Magnesium: 21 mg

Potassium: 96 mg

Sodium: 14 mg

As you can see beer is  low in calcium and high in magnesium. It is preventive against heart disease and against the formation of kidney stones and urinary tract. The low sodium content of beer means that it is low in salt and it has a diuretic effect. 

The high content of minerals, particularly potassium and magnesium, regulates electrolyte balance and ensures trouble-free cellular functionality.

Beer acts as a diuretic because it is low in sodium and high in potassium, which helps cleanse the body.  It has high levels of B vitamins, particularly folic acid, which is believed to help prevent heart attacks. Folic acid useful in the prevention of anemia.  B vitamins can help support the heart by lowering blood pressure, reproduction of red blood cells, and providing necessary functions to supply nutrients to the heart

The most amazing  health connection is something called xanthohumol, a flavonoid found only in hops.  Flavonoids are  potent antioxidants present in beer in significant quantities Xanthohumol is a potent antioxidant that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes. 

Hops also contain polyphenols, which help lower cholesterol, fight cancer and kill viruses. Beer contains antioxidants as well. Selenium and ferulic acid in beer are anti-oxidants.

Beer also has soluble fiber, good for keeping you regular, which in turn reduces the likelihood that your system will absorb unhealthy junk like fat. Beer can boost your metabolism.  Mpderate beer consumption may lower a drinker’s risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, and can even reduce weight gain.

Beer is sometimes referred to as "liquid bread".  Beer is only "processed" in the sense that bread is: It is cooked and fermented, then filtered and packaged.

Beer is the third-most popular beverage overall, after water and tea. Sales of beer are four times those of wine.

Chilling beer makes it more refreshing. Beer doesn't need preservatives because it has alcohol and hops, both of which are natural preservatives.

Beer not only has no cholesterol, it can actually improve the cholesterol in your body. In fact, drinking beer regularly and moderately will tilt your HDL/LDL cholesterol ratios the right way. You've got two kinds of cholesterol in your system: HDL, the "good" cholesterol that armor-plates your veins and keeps things flowing, and LDL, the "bad" cholesterol that builds up in your veins like sludge in your bathtub drain.

If you're someplace where you are advised not to drink the water, the local beer is always a safer bet. It's even safer than the local bottled water. Beer is boiled in the brewing process and is kept clean afterwards right through the bottle being capped and sealed, because if it isn't, it goes bad in obvious ways that make it impossible to sell. Even if it does go bad, though, there are no life-threatening bacteria bacteria that can live in beer.

So, what are you waiting for? 

Grace and peace!

CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

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