Silicon, a component of bone, appears in high amounts
in malty, heavily hopped beers. (Photo: AP)
Feb. 8--Beer drinkers may have one more reason to forgo wine for health. While red wine, in particular, has been linked to reduced risks for cardiovascular disease, a new study points to beer as a significant source of an element that makes bones strong.
Silicon, in the form of orthosilicic acid, appears in concentrations as high as 56.5 mg/L in commercially brewed beers. The University of California, Davis researchers who discovered this did not measure people's uptake of silicon from beer. However, dietary intakes of silicon have been consistently correlated with bone density.
Nonetheless, consuming too little silicon may lead to osteoporosis. According to a study published in the February 2004 Journal of Bone Mineral Research, daily of intakes of more than 40 mg of silicon produced a 10 percent increase in bone density over daily intakes of less than 14 mg of the element. A liter of beer equals two and two-thirds 12 oz. beers, which is very close to the healthy number of daily beers for men.
An estimated 9 million women and 2 million men in the United States suffer from osteoporosis, and tens of million more have weakened bones.
"Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon," noted lead researcher Charles Bamforth in a press release. "Wheat contains less silicon than barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element. While most of the silicon remains in the husk during brewing, significant quantities of silicon nonetheless are extracted into wort and much of this survives into beer."
India pale ales contained the most silicon on average, while light lagers and nonalcoholic beers had the least. The complete findings on the silicon content of 100 different beers were published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture today.
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