Enjoy Your St. Patrick’s Day Beer, Because Science Says Its Actually Good For You

Drink up for St. Patrick’s Day today, boozehounds, because scientific studies say that beer contains many health benefits that can help prevent heart disease and rebuild muscle. (As we’ve previously mentioned, beer can also provide carbohydrates and electrolytes following athletic activity.)

And you don’t even have to stick to watery garbage beer, either, because the best health benefits come from darker beers and microbrews. Antioxidants! Fox News has more details:

Dark beers tend to have the most antioxidants, which help reverse cellular damage that occurs naturally in the body. A recent study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture has also found that dark beer has higher iron content compared to lighter beers.

Remember, iron is an essential mineral that our bodies need. Iron is a part of all cells and does many jobs including carrying oxygen from our lungs throughout the rest of our bodies.

Another good choice is microbrews, which are healthier than mass-produced cans, because they have more hops. Hops contain polyphenols, which help lower cholesterol, fight cancer and kill viruses.

I feel like if you look hard enough, you can justify anything having some kind of health benefit — the caveat of course being that one beer fights cancer and lowers heart disease, whereas five makes you fat and puts you at risk for liver disease. But I guess there are probably worse trade-offs than being fat, happy and cancer-free. Livers are so last year anyway!

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