Health benefits of alcohol-free beer researched

Ámbar 0,0 improves insulin absorption, and also encourages eating less, helping reduce excess body weight which, in some cases, is one of the causes of acquired diabetes.

The use of isomaltose instead of maltose – the latter being a conventional source of the sugar content in beer – and the addition of maltodextrin, a fibre found in starch, turned out to be 'the final piece of the carbohydrates jigsaw', according to Dr Rocío Mateo Gallego from the Aragón Health Research Institute.

Mellitus diabetes, or Type II, is normally caused by an excess of blood sugar, a situation which can also lead to excess body weight, meaning patients are typically recommended to follow a low-carbohydrate diet with no alcohol and with traditional beer restricted.

In Spain, 13.8% of adults have Type II diabetes, and over 386,000 new cases are diagnosed every year.

The research was aimed at finding out whether beer should be allowed, or not, in Type II diabetes patients, says Dr Fernando Civeira, another member of the team.

Based upon the idea that the whole point of food and drink is to 'give pleasure and good health', and that any food or drink which does neither is 'condemned to disappear', the study focused on one of the most popular beverages, albeit in alcohol-free format.

A group of 42 patients drank two Ámbar 0,0 beers a day with their main meals for 10 weeks, then stopped drinking the beer for another six to eight weeks.

After this, they drank two alcohol-free beers a day with their meals for a further 10 weeks in a double-blind experiment, where neither participants nor researchers knew which brands were involved, since they were placed in unmarked bottles with generic tops.

The result was that with Ámbar 0,0, carbohydrates were absorbed more slowly, improving insulin levels, which was thought to have been as a result of the added fibre.

Also, Ámbar 0,0 created a greater sensation of being full up and sooner, meaning patients tended to eat less.

As a bonus, it is also gluten-free, meaning it is suitable for coeliacs.

The research was carried out after the manufacturer decided find out whether the carbohydrates that were 'frowned upon' in beer could be reduced, and contacted Biopolis, which Dr Carles Palanca of Valencia University's biochemical and biomedical faculty calls 'the first spin-off of the CSIC', Spain's National Scientific Research Council.

Biopolis' research with a bug known as C. Elegans was what led to Ámbar 0,0 using alternative ingredients, and creating what has been described as 'the first alcohol-free beer with indisputable nutritional benefits'.

The research that shows these benefits to Type II diabetes patients has been published in the magazine Clinical Nutrition.

Protection against neuro-degenerative diseases

At the same time, research by the neuro-chemistry team at Castilla-La Mancha University (UCLM) has found that extracts in beer can protect consumers against degenerative diseases of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's.

Laboratory testing on conventional beer – pale and black – and alcohol-free beer found that these regulate receptors for the neurotransmitter adenosine, which is associated with cell oxidation.

These receptors are affected in patients with Alzheimer's.

Although the highest amount of protective properties was found in black beer, any health benefits were counteracted by the harmful effects of the alcohol in it.

However, alcohol-free beer also contains these protective properties, albeit in lesser amounts.

Previous research has claimed some fermented drinks contain health benefits in their compounds, but the latest experiment – at the Ciudad Real campus of UCLM – is the first to show that individual components of beer may be beneficial on their own.

Scientists observed the effects of beer on cells cultivated from two types of tumour of the nervous system – the glioma and the neuroblastoma – after putting them through similar conditions to those which occur in neuro-degenerative diseases.

The cells were affected by these neuro-degenerative conditions, but these effects were actually reversed when exposed to beer extracts.

It is though that the beer extract works in a similar way to the molecule known as Xanthohumol in protecting brain cells against oxidation, a hypothesis which will be used for further tests.

According to the research report published in the magazine Nutrients, alcohol-free beer may actually bring positive health effects as well as being a less-harmful alternative to traditional beer.

And this is apparently independent of the brand, unlike in the Type II diabetes study which found the medicinal contribution to treating the disease was only present in Ámbar 0,0.

The Ciudad Real campus has also carried out research on resveratrol, which is produced by some plants as an immune response, is an effective antioxidant, and is present in red wine and forest fruits.

But the dangerous effects of the alcohol content of red wine mean the health benefits are largely wiped out.

Photograph by Ámbar