Member Article

Nuns and beer join forces for science

A study in which teetotal Spanish nuns drank a regular half-litre of beer showed that beer may help reduce cholesterol levels, a group financed by the Spanish Beer Makers’ Association said on Thursday. The study also showed that the beer did not need to contain alcohol or to be drunk in large quantities to be good for you, as the “magic” ingredient is hops. The Centre for Information on Beer and Health said in a statement that hops could provide benefits such as reducing levels of triglycerides and cholesterol.

The experiment did not appear to have won many new beer fans among the teetotal Cistercian nuns who took part, chosen on the basis of their steady lifestyle and balanced diet. Sister Maria Jose said: “To be honest, if I needed it to reduce cholesterol or whatever I’d continue to drink it, but I wouldn’t just drink beer for itself because I don’t like it.”

Fifty nuns drank half a litre of beer a day for 45 days, then stopped for six months. Then they took 400 milligrams of hops daily for 40 days. The result was a six percent reduction in total cholesterol among those with high levels, the Centre said.

Sister Almerinda Alvarez said: “We did it for the good of humanity.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .