Fiber in Beer
2012 Health Benefits of Beer
Fiber in Beer
Fiber in beer is one of the greatly contested nutritional benefits of beer. For starters, imagine how beneficial it would be for drinkers to get their fiber dietary requirement out of a few glasses of beer a day? Fiber in beer would give rise to a few essential benefits that would further support the viability of beer as a healthy drink when taken in moderate amounts.
Unfortunately, this debate remains largely controversial because most commercial beer manufacturers report zero fiber content in beer. Consider what happens in the typical beer manufacturing process that is responsible for making this happen.
The basic brew of commercial beer consists of a mixture of barley and hops plus yeast to facilitate the fermentation process. Once the beer has been formed, it undergoes rigorous filtration routines to capture all the solids and retain the liquid portion. The fiber in beer comes out with the solids and is separated such that it does not appear in the finished product.
However, this is only true for most commercial beer brands. Because beer is largely a universal drink with many brewers who make their own beer, there are plenty of local brews with fiber in beer. The fiber is generated from the barley during the fermentation process but instead of being filtered rigorously, it gets retained in the finished product allowing for some of the most helpful benefits coming from an alcohol drink with fiber content.
Consider; with fiber in beer, drinkers can have their digestive tracts detoxified from unwanted waste. Fiber is an excellent substance for cleansing the stomach from toxins. Fiber also helps promote better digestion. It gives a feeling of being full so people are inclined to eat less and are therefore better positioned to manage their weight.
As to whether or not fiber in beer ever makes it to store shelves in commercial form is a question that only time can answer. In some countries like South Korea, there are a few beer brands with dietary fiber purposely added to promote these healthy benefits. The same can be said of many home-brew beers in Europe particularly Germany and Czech Republic. In the US and North America in general, however, beer remains a largely fiber-free drink.
But then again, there can be different reactions to introducing fiber in beer. Beer drinkers are staunch protectors of their favorite brands and unpopular brews might get the ire of the drinking community instead of being respected as a healthy and natural evolution to beer. In the same way, beer drinkers make no qualms about beer and its health benefits as beer is largely consumed for its social appeal more than for its health dole outs.
What do you think? Will fiber in beer ever become a mainstream drink or will it forever remain a panacea for those health-conscious beer drinkers? That is a debate that we will leave to time, tradition, and the closely guarded tenets of beer drinking. However, there are beers with fiber if you look for them and there are many other benefits of beer even when drinking a beer without it.