Ah, the power of beer! A studyrecently released by a pair of UC-Davis researchers shows that an ingredient found in most beers can actually help increase bone health. And if there’s one thing all beer drinkers are interested in, it’s bone health. The ingredient — dietary silicon — is especially prevalent in hops, but also in barley and wheat. Since silicon is most readily available in hops, it’s no surprise that IPAs — with their hoppy goodness — are the best type of beer for bone health when it comes to dietary silicon content. And what could make you feel even better about drinking beer (as if you need a lot of reasons)? How about the fact that the type of silicon in beer has a high level of “bioavailability.” That translates to how available something is to be used in the body. In beer, the silicon has a 50 percent bioavailability rate. For comparison, bananas are rich in silicon, but feature only a 5 percent bioavailability rate. Bioavailability. I just wanted to type that again. Anyway, looking to stave off osteoporosis and increase bone density as you age? Go with beer. Now here’s a list of silicon content for various beer types:
- India Pale Ale (IPA): 41.2 mg/L
- Ales: 32.8 mg/L
- Pale Ale: 36.5 mg/L
- Sorghum: 27.3 mg/L
- Lagers: 23.7 mg/L
- Wheat: 18.9 mg/L
- Light lagers: 17.2 mg/L
- Non Alcoholic: 16.3 mg/L
