If Red Wine, and to a lesser extent White Wine, is good for you, what about beer? The main beneficial element discovered in red wine is resveratrol, a powerful anti-oxidant. Beer doesn’t contain any resveratrol. But the presence of folate in beer helps lower the risk of heart disease when consumed in moderation. Beer also reduces blood clots and it has been shown to improve mental function in women as well as increasing bone density. 

Beer does not generally contain any fats or cholesterol, so it might come as a surprise to those that associate beer drinking with being overweight but there isn’t a trace of fat in beer. Brewers and beer connoisseurs have known this for quite a while.  

But if there’s no fat, then where does the beer belly come from?  Beer contains lots of carbohydrates, and like all foods in this group, if you eat too much, your body will eventually turn them into fat. In addition, it has less to do with drinking a beer and more about the customs of beer drinking, which often accompany other fatty foods like hamburgers, fries, etc.

Plus, drinking a few beers can make even the most energetic of us a bit lethargic. It’s no surprise that inactivity can add to an expanding waistline. But one beer (not a 6-pack), all by itself, won’t significantly affect your weight one way or another. In fact Shereen tells me that some studies have shown that beer helps to reduce triglycerides and LDL (LDL is the bad sort of cholesterol).