Like wine, drinking beer in moderation can be good for your health. Non-alcoholic beers have recently become very popular, but are they also healthy?

Researchers from the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that, compared to their pre-trial microbiome, males who drank one alcoholic or non-alcoholic lager daily had a more diversified group of gut microorganisms, which could lower the risk of certain diseases.

Human gastrointestinal systems are lined with trillions of bacteria that have a direct impact on their hosts’ health. People are less likely to develop chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes when there are more varieties of bacteria present, according to studies.

Beer also contains substances like polyphenols, as well as microorganisms from fermentation, which may have an effect on the microbes in the human gut. A prior “cross-over” study found that both men’s and women’s gut microbiome diversity increased after 30 days of non-alcoholic lager beer consumption.

In a second group, many of the same people drank an alcoholic version of the beer, which did not have the same impact. Since there has been a dearth of research on this topic, Ana Faria and coworkers conducted a parallel, randomized trial with two groups of participants to investigate if they would find the same effects with men.

19 healthy men were randomly assigned into two groups and given 11 fluid ounces of either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beer with supper for four weeks in this double-blind study.

During the course of the trial, the researchers saw that the subjects’ weight, body mass index, and blood markers for heart health and metabolic function were unchanged.

However, after the period of four weeks, the results showed that both groups had increased levels of fecal alkaline phosphatase and more bacterial diversity in their gut microbiomes, both of which point to an improvement in the health of the intestines.

The results may differ from those of the previous study due to the distinct trial designs and the fact that the subjects lived in different neighborhoods, according to the researchers.

But based on this pilot study, researchers say that men who drink one bottle of beer, no matter how much alcohol is in it, may have a healthier gut microbiome and intestinal health.

But they also say that the safest amount of alcohol to drink is none, so non-alcoholic beer may be a better choice.

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