Guinness, The Official Beer of The Glob!

In these trying times, it is important to have some sort of respite, some escape, where one can relax and enjoy the company of good people and lively conversation. Yet, these days, even simple relaxation becomes a chore as we fret over the various health aspects of what we are drinking. Well, first of all "Phooey" on that. Secondly, "Slainte" and please note the following facts.

GUINNESS® DRAUGHT 196 CALORIES PER PINT
Semi-skimmed milk 260 CALORIES PER PINT
Orange juice 220 CALORIES PER PINT

Raise A Pint Of Guinness To Your Good Health
By KEVIN HUNT Hartford Courant

Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A man walks into a bar, orders a 12-ounce bottle of Corona Extra. Another
man walks in, orders a 12-ounce Guinness draft. The two men turn to each
other; raise their glasses and say, "Here's to your health."

Question: Whose dietary and health interests are better served by the
12-ounce beer?

If the guidelines are less alcohol, fewer calories, fewer carbohydrates --
and, to top it off, protection against heart attacks, blindness and maybe
even impotence -- then it's the Guinness drinker, hands down.

No joke.

Guinness, in fact, is lower in alcohol, calories and carbohydrates than
Samuel Adams, Budweiser, Heineken and almost every other major-brand beer
not classified as light or low-carb. It has fewer calories and
carbohydrates than low-fat milk and orange juice, too. Could this be the
same Irish stout that looks like a still-life root beer float and tastes
about as filling as a Quarter Pounder with cheese? Yes, the same Guinness
that beer expert Michael Jackson (the British king of hops) calls the
world's classic dry stout. It's a favorite of Bono (obviously), Madonna
(with a good cigar) and Matt Damon (no, Guinness does not make teeth
unnaturally white).

Low in alcohol

This tastes-great, more-filling formula defies nutritional expectations
because Guinness is so low in alcohol, a source of empty calories. Guinness
is 4.2% alcohol by volume, the same as Coors Light. Budweiser and Heineken
check in at 5%.

"That surprised me," says Joseph Brennan, a Yale-New Haven Hospital
cardiologist of Irish heritage and a confirmed Guinness drinker. "I could
never understand why one or two wouldn't leave me light-headed." Brennan,
like many cardiologists, recommends a drink a day for his cardiac patients.
Red wine, in particular, has been shown to help prevent heart attacks. Now,
maybe it's beer's turn. A University of Wisconsin study last fall found
that moderate consumption of Guinness worked like aspirin to prevent clots
that increase the risk of heart attacks.

Take, er, drink your vitamins

In the study, Guinness proved twice as effective as Heineken at preventing
blood clots. Guinness is loaded with flavonoids, anti- oxidants that give
the dark color to many fruits and vegetables. These anti-oxidants are
better than vitamins C and E, the study found, at keeping bad LDL
cholesterol from clogging arteries. Blocked arteries also contribute to
erectile dysfunction, as does overindulgence in alcohol. Guinness has a
higher concentration than lighter beers of vitamin B, which lowers levels
of homocysteine, linked to clogged arteries. And researchers have found
that anti-oxidants from the moderate use of stout might reduce the
incidence of cataracts by as much as 50%.

In Ireland, where the slogan "Guinness Is Good for You" was born, the
stout's medicinal uses are the stuff of legend. Diageo, the U.S.
distributor of Guinness, makes no claims about its medical benefits,
spokeswoman Beth Davies says from the company's offices in Stamford, Conn.
But a visitor to Ireland might hear accounts (most no longer, if ever,
true) of Guinness administered to nursing mothers, blood donors, stomach
and intestinal post-operative patients and mothers recovering from
childbirth. "Pregnant women and racehorses, one a day," says Michael Foley
of Wethersfield, Conn., standing over a pint of Guinness in the
subterranean bar at the Irish American Home Society in Glastonbury, Conn.
Racehorses? Foley, who left Castlemaine, County Kerry, 43 years ago but
retains a Guinness-thick brogue, returns a cocked-head glance that says,
loosely translated from Gaelic, "Duh."

"It's made from barley, you know," he says.

(C) 2004 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. via ProQuest Information and
Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

Thanks to Blake for this important health article.