Lager… and a different brew of stomach infrastructure

When it comes to beverages with health benefits, wine always seems to get all the credit.  A glass of wine a day keeps the heart aglow is a cliché that has assumed the same level of relevance as the aphorism on apple.

But lager is getting its bearing right now particularly on perceived and proven health benefits.  This was the subject of discussion among intellectuals and professionals in Lagos on Tuesday, when the Beer and Health Symposium, the first of its kind in Nigeria, held at Eko hotel.

It is understandable to accept an invitation to a symposium on beer with caution. We are in a time when purchasing power for items like newspapers and magazines, cinema and concert shows and even beer and alcoholic beverages is dwindling due to harsh economic conditions among the vast majority in the lower middle class and below. Yet, not a few would have noticed that the reality of the moment is pitching leading breweries against each other in a ferocious battle for market control and survival. Being asked to come and partake in a symposium on beer and health, therefore, could appear like a marketing gimmick to win and retain converts for the green bottles.

However, the symposium turned out to be an engaging discourse, not just on the subject matter but also for the calibre of people that came to share knowledge and candid, no-holds-barred contributions from the audience. A symposium that could parade Prof. Kole Omotosho of the University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa; Dr. Kathryn O’Sullivan, a Public Health Nutritionist from Manchester, United Kingdom; Prof. Tola Atinmo, a professor of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan and Dr. Olu Malomo, Acting Head of the Department of Food Technology, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State must hold some promise for the intelligentsia.

Yet, it says something about the seriousness of the gathering having the popular lady of the tube and CEO of Ebony Life TV, Mo Abudu, to moderate the sessions that had informed minds like Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, Ogun State Commissioner for Health; Dr. Bisi Abiola, a publisher and physical fitness expert; Dr. Lanre Adeleye, Dr. Tobore Akpodibi, Ruth Osime, Editor of This Day Style and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Sina Sofola on the panel.

There was no overt advertisement of brands; nor was there a subtle encouragement to imbibe beer drinking. It was essentially about information and knowledge sharing. And the presentations, from speakers and video documentaries, were a notch higher than the usual admonitions to drink responsibly and in moderation. While those two platitudes may be necessary in any discussion on lifestyles that contain inherent risks if one is not careful, Tuesday’s symposium won the hearts of participants because it offered fresh evidence that moderate and responsible consumption of beer does not only prevent you from the risks associated with alcohol abuse but does, in fact, avail you of some health benefits.

Huge credit should go to Dr. O’Sullivan and Prof. Atinmo in particular for the manner in which the relationship between moderate consumption of beer and science is explained. You would think that the two speakers had participated in the editorial meeting at the Times of India, which on October 26, 2014 published a well-researched treatise on ‘10 reasons beer is not bad for you’.

From Atinmo and O’Sullivan’s submissions, in sync with the Times of India’s article, Xanthohumol, a flavonoid found only in hops is the most amazing connection between beer and health. It is said to be a potent anti-oxidant that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes. Their submissions flow with logic that beer being low in calories and carbohydrates and having no fat or cholesterol whatsoever improves cholesterol and aids digestion.

There is yet the benefit of B vitamins like folic acid (which is believed to prevent heart attack) in beer, especially unfiltered and lightly filtered beer. The soluble fibre, magnesium and potassium contained in beer reduce the likelihood that one’s system will absorb unhealthy junk like fat. More importantly were the submissions that there is no scientific evidence that links pot belly or obesity with beer consumption. The infrastructure of the stomach that beer provides, according to the experts, is 90%water, fibre and other beneficial agents if drank responsibly.

Prof. Omotosho, who at 72, still confessed to being a regular moderate drinker, was informative in his opening paper as the conference chairman. His’ was rich in historical facts, especially on how beer has been around for thousands of years, even in church and monasteries and how faithful were encouraged to attend worships because they were guaranteed a beer after service.

The socio-ceremonial and medical benefit of moderate consumption of beer was what Prof. Atinmo summed up as part of a healthy lifestyle, which to him is not by chance but by choice. He got the entire hall responding animatedly when he quoted the World Health Organization’s prescription of two and half bottles of beer a day as the recommended average for moderation.

From the audience, we encountered the stories of two Nigerian aunties – one who died at 69 without ever tasting beer or any alcoholic beverages and another who died well above 100 as a regular but moderate consumer of beer.

At the instance of Nigerian Breweries Plc, the symposium succeeded in showing the power of information over myths. Indeed, it’s an informed endorsement of Thomas Jefferson’s famous quote that “beer, if drank with moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.”