From FitnessLink:

Beer: Tastes Great, Less Filling - and Good For You?

Another study done by the American Cancer Society claims beer may reduce the risk of death due to cancer. It was the largest ever study on drinking, and almost half a million middle-aged and elderly Americans participated.

Researchers found that people who had a daily drink of wine, beer and even hard liquor had a 20 percent lower overall death rate than non-drinkers. Lead researcher Michael J. Thun, M.D., of the American Cancer Society, said death from cardiovascular disease (heart disease, stroke and other circulatory diseases) was 30 percent to 40 percent lower in participants who had one drink per day.

If that's not enough, researchers have found that the hops used to make beer do more than just add taste. At the 1998 Society of Toxicology's annual meeting, researchers identified compounds in hops that slowed the growth of cancer cells in test tubes while boosting cancer-fighting enzymes.

It Does a Body Good?
All of those benefits may sound well and good, but what about beer's nasty reputation for packing on the pounds? It turns out that the term "beer belly" is somewhat misleading. Beer is fat-free, and when compared to other "healthy" drinks, it actually has fewer calories. Typically, a 12-ounce can of beer contains 151 calories - not bad when compared to the 150 calories you typically find in just 8 ounces of fruit juice or soda. Nonetheless, if you're obsessed with calorie counts, here's what a quick survey of 108 mass-produced beers reveals.

LA Anheuser Busch Premium Pilsner comes in way below average with a calorie count of 92 per bottle. That's quite unusual when compared to the 103 calories you'll get in a bottle of Miller Lite. On the opposite end of the scale, a bottle of McEwans Scotch Ale weighs in at a hefty 294 calories. You'd have to eat 2 � tablespoons of peanut butter to match that!

Not surprisingly, you'll get fewer calories and more of beer's benefits by drinking a higher quality product. The better beers have more protein, fewer calories, fewer carbs, and more B vitamins. So how can you recognize a high quality beer? Among the mass-produced beers like Anheuser Busch and Coors, price is a good reflection of the cost of their ingredients, so it's as good a place to start as any.

But let's face it, all the trappings of mass production force these manufacturers to look for ways to cut costs. And sadly, additives and preservatives are common to the mass production recipe. Beer doesn't need to be compromised with extra anti-oxidants, foam enhancers, coloring, flavorings and enzymes. Yet the major breweries toss them in and many will substitute cheaper ingredients, such as corn and rice, instead of barley and wheat. So it's doubtful that any Sumerian priest would offer one of our "megabrew" products to their gods.

To really take a step up in quality, try a beer from a microbrewery. You'll get fewer additives and more of the good things in beer, plus a noticeably superior flavor. Many microbreweries strive for awards as a method of advertising. Consequently, the industry as a whole aspires to a higher quality standard.