Study shows beer builds strong bones

William Atkins
Monday, 15 February 2010 01:59

Science - Health

A U.S. study has found that drinking beer is a good way to keep bones strong and healthy. However, types of beer differ with respect to how much they help your bones.



The scientific study on beer-and-bones was published as a February 2010 article entitled 'Silicon in beer and brewing' (doi: 10.1002/jsfa.3884), which appears in the Journal of the Science of Food an Agriculture.

The authors are Drs. Charles W. Bamforth and Troy R. Casey, both from the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California'”Davis.

Beer contains silicon (with chemical symbol Si). Actually beer contains a form of silicon; specifically , a soluable form of orthosilicic acid [OSA]).

Orthosilicic acid (H₄SiO₄) is part of a family called silicic acid, which is various compounds consisting of silicon, hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O), with a general formula of [SiO_x(OH)_4-2x]_n.

Dietary silicon helps to keep bones strong because it adds to the growth and development of the mineral density of bones and tissues.

However, little scientific research has been performed in the past with respect to how much silicon is present in beer with respect to the various methods by which beer is produced and to its ingredients.

Page two describes their research into beer, silicon, and bones.