Guinness is Good for You is one of the most famous advertising campaigns in history, but slogans and billboards aside, it looks like there may be some truth to the claim that everyone’s favorite fat man is doing something positive for the body.
In recent years, researchers have been accumulating evidence suggesting that certain beers may help increase species diversity in the gut microbiome, which tends to be associated with health benefits. A 2022 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry tracked 22 men who drank just over a pint of beer every day for four weeks and found they had better indicators of gut health afterward.
Now, a review of experiments published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition has concluded that various components in beer may have a positive effect on the immune system when broken down and fermented in the gut.
This is due to plant chemicals known as polyphenols, found in some beers that are known to be beneficial foods for bacteria in the gut, according to Megan Rossi, nutrition researcher at King’s College London and founder of The Gut Health Doctor. “Bacteria have been shown to digest approximately 90 percent of polyphenols and convert them into chemicals that may have anti-inflammatory effects,” she says.
But Belgian professor Jeroen Raes, who studies the possible effects of beer on the microbiome as part of the Flemish Gut Flora Project, warns that we still know relatively little and that the alcohol in beer could cancel out any positive findings.
“My sense is that if beer has an effect on the gut, the magnitude of effect would be relatively limited,” he says. “And I’m not sure that’s helpful by definition.”
But scientists believe emerging research indicates that some beers are potentially better for you than others. Here are some gut-friendly suggestions, and some to perhaps leave behind the bar.
Gut-friendly beers
1.Guinness
From the 1920s to the 1960s, marketing slogans such as My Goodness, My Guinness and Guinness for Strength made the brand arguably the most popular in the world.
However, although there is no suggestion that Guinness helps you gain muscle mass, it is thought to be rich in some plant chemicals. “Some polyphenols are particularly high in Guinness,” says Rossi. “We talk about variety (good for the gut) and the same goes for drinks. “So if you drink some Guinness one night and some red wine another time, while maintaining the alcohol limit, that will probably provide you with a wider range of these polyphenols.”
2. Newcastle Brown Ale
“It’s not a health drink, but some of these beers will contain more of these beneficial chemicals as well as the remaining yeast species in the beer,” says medical scientist Federica Amati of Imperial College London. “They probably won’t survive, but there’s a thought that once they reach the gut they still have some sort of beneficial effect on our immune system.”
3.Hoegaarden
Unlike most beers, Belgian brands such as Hoegaarden, Westmalle Tripel and Echt Kriekenbier are fermented twice, initially in the brewery and again in the bottle. This second fermentation uses a different strain than traditional brewer’s yeast; This increases the beer’s strength, but also means it contains potentially more beneficial microbes.
“We know that even dead yeast can have an impact on the composition of the microbiota, and this can also have an impact on transit times,” says Raes. “If you pour the beer at the end, you see that the last pour is a little more opaque and that it is actually your yeast. “And my grandmother would say, ‘I’m going to drink this because it’s good for my transit,’ and although it’s not very clear, it probably has some effect on mobility.”
4. London Porter Dark Beer
Belgian beers are not the only ones that contain intestinal-strengthening yeast at the bottom. Amati says you can often notice this in craft or craft beers as well as dark beers.
“If you look inside the bottle and there’s a little bit of sediment at the bottom, that’s always a good sign,” he says.
5. Stella Artois Unfiltered
If you choose to buy a lager, the rule is to try to find an unfiltered version. Many drinkers prefer it because it provides a more complex taste and aroma, but the lack of processing also means more potentially beneficial chemicals are left in the drinks.
“If you drink a beer that has been fermented for quite a long time and is traditionally brewed, so it’s not super filtered, you’re going to get some of the polyphenols and yeast species that are left over in the beer,” says Amati.
The vast majority of beers sold in UK supermarkets are heavily filtered, although some brands, such as Stella Artois, have begun offering unfiltered ranges.
6. Doom Bar Zero-Alcohol Amber Ale
Drinking non-alcoholic beer can provide all the benefits to your gut without the drawbacks of actual alcohol content. This particular brand is a good example of a darker, non-alcoholic beer that is more likely to contain beneficial plant chemicals.
“Studies suggesting that beer may benefit the microbiome could be a very nice boost for the low-alcohol beer market,” says Amati. “However, you are looking for darker and more craft beers.”
Beers to avoid
1.Heineken
Heavily filtered and carbonated lagers will contain fewer beneficial nutrients for the intestines.
2. Budweiser Lager
Another filtered beer will contain less polyphenols than beer.
3.San Miguel
This popular beer is likely to contain fewer microbes than twice-fermented Belgian beers.
Platform 4
Like other filtered beers, this beer is likely to contain gut-friendly plant chemicals.
5. Stella Artois regular beers
If you’re looking for a gut-friendly version, opt for their unfiltered beer.
6. Heineken Non-Alcoholic Lager
Just like their alcoholic versions, non-alcoholic lagers are less likely to provide real benefits to your gut.
Not just beer, cider can be good too
According to Amati, there is some evidence that craft cider brands such as Old Rosie Scrumpy Cider and Henry Westons Vintage Cider may provide benefits for the gut microbiome.
“Some of the actual fruit tends to remain in the drink, meaning fermentation continues for longer,” he says. “Muddy cider is better because these are sugars known as polysaccharides floating in the cider and are good prebiotics to feed the gut bugs.”
Other medieval beverages, such as mead, which has seen a recent revival in London, are also thought to be beneficial to the intestines. “All these older things that are made today tended to use a lot of the fiber from fruit, so they may have some benefits,” says Amati.
But as always, moderation is key.
However, all gut experts are keen to emphasize that alcoholic beverages are not synonymous with healthy drinks, and in most cases any benefits to the gut will likely be negated by alcohol’s effect on the body.
“I’m very keen to get the message out that we need to drink very moderately,” says Amati. “Go at least three days a week without alcohol, and when you do drink, don’t have more than one drink.”
NHS guidelines recommend consuming no more than 14 units of alcohol per week – the equivalent of eight cans of average strength (four per cent) beer – and note that alcohol increases the risk of heart and liver disease, as well as multiple cancers.
Rossi also advocates not drinking more than one or two alcoholic drinks at a time. “When we talk about any anti-inflammatory benefits of these dark beers for the gut, it becomes pro-inflammatory after about two drinks,” he explains. “This is because alcohol starts to leak the gut a little bit, allowing things that wouldn’t normally be there to pass through our gut into our bloodstream, causing low-grade inflammation.”