Non-alcoholic wheat beer promotes good health

Alcohol-free wheat beer promotes the health of athletes and protects against infections

12/06/2011

Active athletes will have always guessed: The daily enjoyment of wheat beer after exercise protects and activates the health. However, the drink should be non-alcoholic, as researchers of the TU Munich for preventive and rehabilitative sports medicine noted. Regular consumption reduces the development of inflammation, supports the immune system and has a preventative effect against flu-like infections. A glass of wheat beer is therefore an ideal drink after sports.

Typical infections after athletic peak performances
In the largest international marathon study „Be-MaGIC“ (Beer, Marathon, Genetics, Inflammation and the Cardiovascular system) sports physicians of the Technical University of Munich were able to show that alcohol-free wheat beer has a positive effect on the organism of athletes. For example, the study showed that plant-derived substances called polyphenols were able to reduce the level of infections and disease risks that athletes may experience after strenuous peak performance. Under the study supervision of Dr. med. Johannes Scherr from the TUM Chair for Preventive and Rehabilitative Sports Medicine examined 277 study participants three weeks before and two weeks after the big marathon in Munich 2009.

Participants drank 1.5 liters of wheat beer per day
The participants were divided into two equal groups. While one group drank one to 1.5 liters of non-alcoholic wheat beer every day, the other group received a drink without an active ingredient (placebo). The test drink was significantly different by the factor polyphenols. The participants were randomly selected and assigned to the respective test groups according to the randomized standards. This means that neither the accompanying sports doctors nor the group participants knew in which group they were staying.

Herbal products polyphenols
The main focus of the study was on the health risks of a marathon and the effective effects of aromatic compounds, so-called polyphenols. Polyphenols are flavor compounds and are among the phytochemicals. Natural polyphenols occur in plants as bioactive substances such as colors, flavors and tannins. They protect the plants from external influences and are antioxidant. Due to the filtering of high-energy UVB radiation, polyphenols serve as protection for the photosynthesis complex of some plants. Many of the polyphenols are considered to be beneficial to health. Plants that have a high proportion are, for example, apple berries, grapes, mangoes, ginkgo, tea, rock roses and in the Asian lemon balm. In addition, polyphenols (flavonoids) extracted from the bark of pine and larch wood for medical and naturopathic use. Several studies have already identified a protective effect, especially against cancerous tumors. The Munich marathon study examined for the first time worldwide the combination of different polyphenols as contained in the beer in a larger number of subjects.

Marathon provoked inflammation and weakened the immune system
First, the evaluated study data showed that a marathon on the forces of the body consumes. In the runners increased inflammatory reactions were found. The body's defense system suffered under the strain and the athletes increasingly complained of colds and infections of the upper arms. These observations are nothing new and are also used in sports medicine as „Open window“ or. „Open Window“ designated. In the group of Weissbier drinkers, a significantly lower inflammatory reaction could be detected in the blood picture. In addition, infectious diseases occurred significantly less frequently and if, then with much lower symptoms. „Examination of white blood cell leukocytes, which are one of the most important parameters for inflammation, was 20 percent lower in the test group than in the control group“, explained Dr. Johannes Scherr. The plant substances contained in the beer could therefore also strengthen the immune system. The researchers found that the test drink had a balancing effect on the immune system. “We were able to show that a weakened by physical stress immune system is strengthened“. An overshooting system, on the other hand, could be significantly slowed down.

Lower susceptibility to colds
Drowning the runners wheat beer, they were less susceptible to colds by a factor of 3 than the comparison group. „If you drink the non-alcoholic test drink, your risk is reduced to one-third that you get a cold.“ It was noticeable that in the wheat beer test subjects a cold fell significantly less weight than others. The infections were altogether milder and shorter.

Surprisingly positive results
The scientists rated their study as a success. In several scientific studies, although the positive effects of polyphenol on athletes could be detected, „Nevertheless, we were partly surprised ourselves how clearly the result was. For the examined drink with its special mixture of polyphenols, vitamins and minerals we have now scientifically confirmed the assumptions.“ The researchers emphasized that the study was created on a purely scientific scale, although the brewery company „Erdinger Weißbräu“ financially supported the study. All data were randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. The results will be presented at the world's largest Sports Medicine Congress in the United States. In January 2012, the study will be published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (MSSE). (Sb)

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Picture: Hiking man