Beer for the Bones Keep your eyes on the news in the next weeks since whiskey is next on the list of medicinal drinks...in fact, I believe that was announced two months ago. The latest research, from King's College and St. Thomas Hospital in London, England, determined that beer contains high levels of silicon which comes from the soil. They say that half a pint of beer, which would be a fairly large glass, will give the imbiber 20% of daily requirements. It seems to be absorbed better from the liquid source than from a food source such as string beans, cereals, and breads. By extrapolation, it would take a large pitcher to fulfill the daily needs...a bit of a stretch and not to be recommended. These findings are currently being presented to a prestigious scientific conference in Brussels to point out that 2,700 men and women have benefited from the silicon in beer. The grains that absorb the most silicon are wheat, oats and barley so any food that contains them would be a good place to start. My first question was that all vegetables grow in the ground, so doesn't all growing/green matter contain goodly amounts of silicon? It seems to be the fermentation and process of making beer that retains the mineral. And we all know that the grains mentioned above are "over-processed" and most of the nutrients are removed before the bread or cereal hits the table. As long ago as thirty years, studies on chicks found that bone deformities were common when silicon was missing in their diet. Now it's known that people with low silicon are showing osteoporosis. The silicon was found to improve the building of collagen which is the basis of bone structure. One tiny caveat appeared in the study...and it was that menopausal and post-menopausal women did not benefit from the beer therapy. Apparently it's too late for them, and they must find other forms of silicon and better bio-available calcium as has been the case up to now. Too bad. To my mind, I'd like to cover all bases and will give the beer therapy a whirl...mind you, one glass a day will suffice. Oh, and by the way, non-alcoholic beer is just as good as any of the alcoholic brands. And, no, water is not good enough. Modern water purification processes leach the silicon which used to be there in huge quantities. A glass of wine, a glass of beer...Cheers! A votre sante! And good health to you all! Back to the Writing Index