There is nothing like a little deprivation to make you appreciate the finer things of life. Lying in a hospital bed, racked by pain, throat like the roughest sandpaper coated with bird dung and assaulted by NHS tea, there was little to look forward to other than attempting to watch England's World Cup struggles on a ridiculously small screen - and for the princely sum of four quid a day.What then, apart from a very unlikely victory in South Africa, was a chap to dream about? Beer, obviously.
Sadly, the days when they doled out a bottle of Guinness or two courtesy of the health service to assist your recovery are long gone.
But should it be so? While pulling around from my recent operation it was a pleasant surprise to read that Beer Really Does Do You Good. But a recent national survey revealed that there is widespread ignorance about the benefits of beer and major misconceptions about its qualities.
The poll of 2,000 people by education group the Beer Academy, revealed that 68 per cent of the sample considered beer to be Britain’s national drink. But many were under the impression that it is fattening or made from chemicals.
A quarter of people the sample believed red wine contains more vitamins, while 10 per cent thought that beer contains fat.
And 13 per cent thought beer was made from chemicals while only two per cent of people realise that beer is a source of silicon – which is good for bone strength.
The Beer Academy report also stresses that beer is one of the healthiest drinks available as a good source of vitamins and fibre and with a relatively low calorific value (of course as we all know it is the salty snacks that pile the weight on), low in sodium and high in potassium which helps control blood pressure.
Professor Jonathan Powell, head of MRC human nutrition research at Cambridge, discovered the links between silicon and bone density.
“Silicon is found in large amounts in the husk of barley, the very substance that is used in the beer making process and is dissolved into the fluid of beer. Even so we were surprised that some of the beers we tested were literally drenched with silicic acid – silicon.”
So, when I return to hospital for a check up on the hip in a few weeks time perhaps I should remain optimistic that I will be cleared to attend the annual Great British Beer Festival in August. After all, if this research is correct, what better place could there be to to build up loads of bone strength? I'm looking forward to a pint. Watch this space.
