Lager beer, whether it contains alcohol or not, could help men’s gut microbes

In a pilot study, researchers in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry report that compared to their pre-trial microbiome, men who drank either one alcoholic or non-alcoholic lager daily had a more diverse set of gut microbes, which can reduce the risk for some diseases.
According to the researchers, trillions of microorganisms line human gastrointestinal tracts, directly impacting their host’s well-being. Studies have shown that when more types of bacteria are present, people tend to have a lower chance of developing chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Beer also contains compounds, such as polyphenols, as well as microorganisms from its fermentation, that could impact the variety of microbes in the human gut.
A previously published “cross-over” study showed that when both men and women consumed non-alcoholic lager beer for 30 days, their gut microbiome diversity increased, but when the same group drank an alcoholic version of the beer, it didn’t have the same effect. In the current study, Ana Faria and colleagues conducted a parallel, randomised trial design with two separate groups of participants. 19 healthy men were randomly divided into two groups who drank 11 fluid ounces of either alcoholic or non-alcoholic lager with dinner for 4 weeks.
The researchers found that the participants’ weight, body mass index and serum markers for heart health and metabolism didn’t change during the study. But at the end of the 4-week period, both groups had greater bacterial diversity in their gut microbiome and higher levels of fecal alkaline phosphatase, indicating an improvement in intestinal health.
These results could differ from those of the prior study because of the different designs of the trials, and because the participants were living in different communities. But based on this pilot study, the researchers say that consuming one bottle of beer, regardless of its alcohol content, may be beneficial to the gut microbiome and intestinal health of men and overall the results suggest the effects of beer on gut microbiota modulation are independent of alcohol and may be mediated by beer polyphenols.
Source: Impact of Beer and Nonalcoholic Beer Consumption on the Gut Microbiota: A Random-ized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial. Cláudia Marques, Liliana Dinis, Inês Barreiros Mota, et al. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. American Chemical Society.
pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.2c00587