Cheers! Drinking beer makes you happier and healthier than if you are teetotal, scientists confirm
Cheers to that! Drinking beer makes you happier and healthier than if you were a teetotaller, scientists confirm
Beer drinkers have better mental and physical health than teetotalers and ex-drinkers, scientists have discovered.
Enjoying a pint or two makes people rate their health and happiness higher, according to a team from the University of Murcia in Spain.
The researchers analyzed data from 33,185 respondents to the 2012 and 2017 national health surveys to see how beer consumption is related to self-rated health.
The study found that moderate drinkers enjoyed higher levels of good physical health, scoring 80 percent compared to half of those who abstained from alcohol.
Meanwhile, 90 percent rated their mental health as “good,” while non-drinkers rated it at 80 percent, The sun reports.
Enjoying a pint or two makes people rate their health and happiness higher, according to a team from the University of Murcia in Spain
While heavier drinkers rated their health better, experts warned of a “double-edged habit” as they ate more fast food and smoked more.
Those who favored a drink were also half as likely to have “physical limitations” in their day-to-day lives as those who weren’t — 15 percent compared to 30 percent.
But while drinkers also exercised more often, they were found to eat less fruit and vegetables than non-drinkers.
One of the study’s authors, Professor Ernesto De la Cruz-Sánchez, said: ‘Beer consumption provides better indicators of physical, mental and emotional health than teetotalers and ex-drinkers.
“Research has suggested that low doses of alcohol can improve heart and immune health.”
The study also found that men were more likely to identify as moderate and heavy beer drinkers, while women were more likely to be teetotalers and occasional drinkers.
It also highlighted that beer, the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world, usually has a relatively low alcohol content.
One of the study’s authors, Professor Ernesto De la Cruz-Sánchez, said: ‘Beer consumption shows better indicators of physical, mental and emotional health than teetotalers’
And while the findings may seem like cause for celebration to many, the high calorie content in pints has recently received calls from the Shadow Health Secretary to make people more aware of what they’re consuming.
Four pints of BrewDog Punk IPA can provide half a day’s worth of calories, MailOnline recently discovered in a study of the worst beers.
Another recent study that reviewed the findings of 107 alcohol health surveys also found that many of them were flawed.
The review authors say the included studies have several flaws, and they would still advise that moderate amounts of alcohol carry small risks for serious diseases such as cancer.
Moderate drinking is often defined by two standard drinks of alcohol per day for women and three drinks for men.