Beer fights cancer, study finds

One of beers main ingredients may thwart prostate cancer, researchers at Oregon State University say.

Photo: Beer fights cancer, study finds

But a person would have to down more than 17 pints for a medically effective dose of xanthohumol, the cancer-fighting chemical found in hops, according to researcher Emily Ho.

"So the counter effects of the alcohol may outweigh any health benefits from drinking beer," she said.

German scientists have brewed a beer containing 10 times as much xanthohumol, reports The Advertiser.

Research from Denmark suggests that men who drink alcohol every day have a lower risk of heart disease than those who drink less frequently. The findings reported in the British Medical Journal further indicated that it made no difference how much booze was consumed by the 25,000 men studied over a six-year period, so long as they drank every day. Among the caveats, however, was a low response rate that suggests some study participants may have been too drunk to be counted.

In other news that may seem too good to be true, researchers at Oregon State University are suggesting that xanthohumol, a compound found in one of the chief ingredients in beer, may help prevent prostate cancer and prostate enlargement, informs Miami Herald.

O.Ch.