Water

More than 90% of beer is water. Thus beer can make a contribution to the daily fluid supply, which has to be at least 1.5 to 2 litres a day. But be careful, alcohol also has a dehydrating effect which means that beer (and wine and spirits) cannot be the only source of fluid.

Alcohol-free beer has less of a dehydrating effect than ordinary beer, but still causes a greater loss of fluid than water. This was shown in a study on 23 professional footballers who after training were given either 75 cl of alcohol free beer or the same quantity of water. Urine collections over the next two hours showed that the group that drank the alcohol-free beer lost 22% of the original quantity, while the water drinkers lost 17% in the same time span. This small difference is probably explained by the small quantity of alcohol in so-called alcohol-free beer (alcohol-free beer can contain up to 0. 5% alcohol).

Brewers have long been aware that extremely pure water has to be used for beer. For every litre of beer, 7 to 10 litres of water are needed, for the brewing itself and for cleaning and sterilising all the receptacles that the beer is produced and transported in. Every country, including Belgium, has strict rules on the water used for brewing beer. These rules relate to the shelf life, acidity, salt content, oligo-elements, and any contaminants, including pollutants. The pure water used in beer also reduces the risk of some cancers such as bladder cancer.

Fat, sugar and proteins

Beer contains no fat, very few proteins (less than 0.5%) and a small quantity (around 3%) of fermented sugar (in contrast to the refined sugars of soft drinks). The protein fraction in beer has no nutritional value, and is there to foster the formation of the head. The sugar on the other hand does have a certain nutritional value and largely comes from the barley. Most sugar in beer is in the form of maltose and glucose. Their quantity fluctuates between 35 and 40 g per litre of lager. Other types of beer generally contain more sugar. Because beer contains no fat, it does not have the fattening properties that are sometimes attributed to it. In addition, beer contains no cholesterol and no dioxin as dioxin is only soluble in fats.

Beer contains no dioxins

Since the dioxin crisis in Belgium we have all become aware that dioxins are potentially carcinogenic in man. Studies show that a slight exposure causes little or no cancer, but a high exposure can lead to an increased risk of certain cancers (eg. leukaemia). Belgian law stipulates that food with more than 2% fat (eg. milk, meat) may not contain more than five picogrammes of dioxine per gramme of fat.
Dioxins are found everywhere in the environment, in the air, water and soil. The normal contamination of animal products and animals is the result of the pollution of surface drinking water and grasslands in which contaminated air and water drainage provide an almost constant, generally low, contamination. When industrial waste gets into animal feed, there can be a massive increase in exposure to dioxins. Because dioxins are barely soluble in water, but very much so in fat, it is the fat compartments in animal products that are the most contaminated.
According to the Foodstuffs Inspectorate of the Ministry of Public Health, no dioxin contamination has ever been found in Belgian beer. This makes sense as beer does not contain any fats and dioxins are mainly soluble in fat.
Belgian beer thus does not come under the normal residue legislation on dioxins because it contains no fat components.

Vitamins

The yeast cells added to the beer during the brewing process produce vitamin B while growing and many of these vitamins stay in the beer. The more the beer is filtered and clarified, the more vitamins are lost.

A 25cl glass of lager still contains 0.07 mg vitamin B2, 0.01 mg vitamin B1, and 0.12 mg vitamin B6.
As a comparison: one slice of brown bread contains 0.02 mg vitamin B2, 0.06 mg vitamin B1, and 0.05 mg vitamin B6.

With a moderate intake of beer this product can make a contribution to the vitamin requirements. On the other hand, it is not the case that a good reserve of vitamins is created with excessive consumption. On the contrary, the more beer consumed the greater the vitamin requirement (especially vitamin B1).

Minerals

Beer contains a number of trace elements and minerals. The quantities of them depend on the origin of the raw materials, the method of preparation, and the production process. The composition of the soil in which the barley and hops grow, and the weather conditions also play a role. The presence of certain minerals such as iron, chromium, copper, silicon and potassium can certainly be classed as positive. Less desirable trace elements such as cobalt and lead are practically non-existent. Sodium (salt) is almost absent, which is certainly positive as our diet already contains more than enough salt. Through its dehydrating effect, beer ensures that the excess salt accumulated in our body can be excreted via the kidneys.

Table 1. Vitamin content in a 25 cl glass of lager and light beer, average values.
1 glass	Vit B1	Vit B6	Vit B3	Pantothenic acid	Vit B6	Folic acid	Vit B12
	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mcg	mcg
Lager	0,021	0,093	1,613	0,206	0,178	21	0,07
Light beer*	0,032	0,106	1,388	0,127	0,120	15	0,04
(*)Light beer contains fewer calories but has the same alcohol content as ordinary beers.td>

Table 2. Mineral content in a 25 cl glass of lager or light beer, average values.
1 glass	Ca	Fe	Mg	F	K	Na	Zn	Cu	Mn	Se
	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mg	mcg
Lager	18	0,10	21	43	89	18	0,07	0,032	0,043	4,3
Light beer	18	0,14	18	42	64	11	0,11	0,085	0,057	4,2
Source: CBMC (Confederation of Brewers of the Common Market; 23/6/99)td>

Other substances

Beer also contains a wide range of biologically active components of a vegetable origin, the so-called phytochemicals. Polyphenols (tanins), for example, are present in beer and wine and play a role in preventing heart and circulatory disease by acting on the fat metabolism.
Another interesting component in beer is harman, a betacarboline. Betacarbolines are substances with a hallucinogenic effect. Harman is found in beer and wine. Nonharman, a substance belonging to the same class, is also found in tobacco. Small quantities of harman can be found in the blood of heavy drinkers. Harman interferes with neurotranbsmitters, substances in the brain that activate or inhibit certain zones of the brain. Harman (and nonharman) interact with the neurotransmitter serotonin, and that could explain why beer and wine (and tobacco) have a calming effect, and in high doses lead to trembling and hallucinations.

Over the last few years attention has also been paid to phyto-oestrogens in beer. Phyto-oestrogens are also biologically active substances of a vegetable origin that mimic the action of the female hormone. Many kinds of favourable effects are attributed to oestrogen. They act against heart and circulatory disease and cancer, and with a high intake in older women they also reduce any menopausal complaints. Whether the low concentrations of phyto-oestrogens found in beer are enough to cause such effects is not yet clear.

Beer also contains an extensive list of phytochemicals in very low doses, a number of which have not yet been identified. A number of these substances possibly interact with the body’s own substances while others have no effect.

Contaminants

Just as with all foodstuffs beer can also contain contaminants. These are undesired substances that get into the beer by accident during brewing and packaging. Beer in cans, for example, just as with soft drinks in cans, contains traces of aluminium from the packaging.
They are generally very low concentrations that do not present a health hazard.

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