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Anti-Cancer Beer On It’s Way?

I was reading some interesting stuff about beer and cancer the other day. It seems that the hops in beer is a great anti-cancer fighter. To dig a little deeper, it is actually a substance in the hops, called Xanthohumol which has been shown to be a very active substance against cancer. Xanthohumol is found in hops which all avid beer enthusiasts know, is the main ingredient in beer.

Even though hops are not new, scientists have found something new inside hops: Xanthohumol, or Xan for short, that is a powerful antioxidant. It comes in small sticky beads, which can be found within the hops. Xanthohumol contains a family of enzymes called cytochromes that can deactivate the cancer process. It also helps the body detoxify carcinogens, stopping tumor growth at an early stage. Preliminary studies show that Xan can kill breast, colon, ovarian and even prostate cancers. Xanthohumol contains more powerful antioxidents than the great Vitamin E itself.

As if that was not enough, studies are now showing that Xan also reduces the oxidation of bad cholesterol. Take heed, my beer drinking friends, just drinking more beer wont do the trick. It would take 60 regular beers, or about 2 1/2 cases to equal the amount of Xan that German researchers are able to brew in one anti-cancer beer, which would be hard for even the biggest beer enthusiasts to handle. Thats why scientists are now working on ways to give all beers higher levels of xanthohumol and even find ways to add it to other foods such as chocolate. Studies are not final yet, but antioxidants arent the only things being found beneficial in hops. Some compounds found in hops are potent phytoestrogens ( a naturally occurring compound of plants, such as soybeans, or plant products, such as whole grain cereals, that acts like estrogen in the body), and could ultimately help prevent post-menopausal “hot flashes” and even osteoperosis.

Could this be a dream? Something that tastes great, and is healthy? Beer drinkers verywhere will need to raise their frosty cold mugs and give cheer. This is one research that may get a boatload of attention. Bottoms up!

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