A pint a day keeps the doctor away - scientific FACT

The latest boffinry news brings good news for beer lovers: statistics have shown that moderate quaffing confers a significant benefit to cardiovascular health. You will actually be noticeably healthier than a teetotaller if you down a little more than a pint a day on average, and as healthy as a teetotaller if you drink a bit …

[Anomalous Cowturd]

I'll drink to that!

It's good for you.

[Josco]

So who's round is it?

Theakstons for me please

[Northern Fop]

OP or XB?

Depends on the weather and your mood, I find.

*mouth fills with drool*

[Skrynesaver]

I always feel these stats are skewed by the fact that a lot of teetotallers are recovering alcoholics whose prior behaviour would have long term consequences for their health.

That said, I thoroughly approve of this research.

[Rob Dobs]

not so many I would guess

Not sure about UK, but in general the number of people who are recovering alcoholics seems pretty small to me, as opposed to the massive number that just drink too much, and massive number of mormons, muslims etc that never drink. I would not expect it to skew the numbers too much. Plus I would assume like cigarette smoking that after a number of years of not partaking, your health statistics start to veer back to the average.

[JakeyC]

"slightly more than an English pint a day"

Not that Scottish 'pints' are NOT a suitable measure of alcohol.

[Alan 6]

I assuming they mention English pint to distinguish from a US pint, which is ~473ml rather than an Imperial pint of ~568ml

[Anonymous Coward]

:)

I imagine this is to warn against being short-changed by American pints, or for that matter the dubious claim of some of their stuff to be drinkable beer (or anything else for that matter).

[Lord Raa]

There's a reason why American pints are less that UK pints. It's to go with the fact that there are 16 ounces to a pound. So by that logic, there should e 16 fluid ounces to a pint.

Of course, that is not correct.

[Ken Hagan]

Re: Of course, that is not correct.

Specifically, the application of logic in discussing traditional units of measure is not correct.

[Tony Green]

I'd think it's more likely that it's so that American business can make more profit by selling consumers smaller measures. If it's America, then it's money that matters.

[Michael Dunn]

There's a reason...

Yes, ask for an English pint of most American beers, and you'd be hard put to finish it!

[Pete Spicer]

I just remember that bit in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, where they end up in Bree and Pippin brings over a large flagon of beer...

Merry: What is that?

Pippin: This... is a pint.

Merry: It comes in PINTS?!

[Richard Wharram]

Wasn't that the tagline for Razzle ?

[Alan 6]

I've always thought that these studies are looking at the results the wrong way.

It's not that drinking a pint or beer or glass of wine a day are beneficial to your health, it's just that people who drink moderately are more relaxed in general than teetotallers, and this relaxation is reflected in their general well being.

[deshepherd]

English pint

An "English Pint" is a weird hybrid measure as it is 20 US fl oz's ... thus is marginally larger than a Imperial Pint! (as 1 US fl oz is marginally bigger than 1 Imperial fl oz)

At least its not as bad as the "ye olde englishe pubbe" style of American drinking establishment that maintain that the true english measure for ale is the yard!

[PJI]

What?

I find it unlikely that English pints are defined in USA units.

Much as I distrust Wiki:

1 imperial pint = 20 imperial fluid ounces (fl. oz.)

= 0.56826125 litres (exactly)

≈ 568 ml

≈ 1.20 U.S. wet pints

≈ 1.03 U.S. dry pints

1 U.S. wet pint = 16 U.S. fl. oz.

= 0.473176473 litres (exactly)

≈ 473 ml

≈ 0.83 imperial pints

≈ 0.86 U.S. dry pints

1 U.S. dry pint = 0.5506104713575 litres (exactly)

≈ 551 ml

≈ 0.97 imperial pints

≈ 1.16 U.S. wet pints

[dotdavid]

No place

"There is no place for binge drinking or any other form of heavy consumption"

I respectfully disagree. My local boozer welcomes it, as several sore heads the following day will attest.

[Tony Green]

Beer is best!

Interesting to see that they've actually separated out different types of drinks, something that's rarely done. And good to see that while spirits confer no benefit, wine confers some and beer gives the best benefit.

Some years ago, Prof. Richard Doll (he of the tobacco and lung cancer connection) did a similar study which gave the same results. His showed that drinkers only got back to teetotallers' mortality rates above sixty-odd units per week. It would be interesting to see what level they've found that to be for beer drinkers compared to wine drinkers; extrapolating from what they've published free suggests they'll be showing a higher cut-off point.

I'll enjoy my Real Ale tonight even more...

[Rodrigo Valenzuela]

Like a cold beer on a warm summer day

This kind of news is one of the reasons I read El Reg.

R

[Ben Morgan]

Guinness is good for you!

Time to re-instate the classic advertising slogan?

[KieranH]

Why oh why

... dont they just do a study with alcohol-free beer and/or wine? Then we'd know for sur..... oh hold on a minute.. nah! -cancel that.

[Steve Knox]

Variety

"Both wine and beer contain polyphenols - albeit different ones - and it may be these rather than the alcohol making drinkers' hearts healthier."

In that case, wouldn't the healthiest choice be a pint of beer AND a glass of wine per day?

[Anonymous Coward]

Pity...

...that it doesn't keep the undertaker away...

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh yeah!!

Now it really is for medical reasons!

"But baby, I AM watching out for my health!!"

[Anonymous Coward]

who drinks only one pint a day

How can they possibly know this. No one drinks 1 pint its not possible, I know as I have tried so many times.

[MJI]

I drink regularly but not a lot

About a bottle of decent cider/lager/beer a day, 500ml to 568mm (pint).

I should be fine.

Cider - I avoid all those factory ones with syrup and imported junk #

Beer - whatever is on offer in bottles are not mass produced junk *#

Lager - should be Czech *

# Why is cider imported into the UK? We produce lots but the supermarkets are full of imported stuff and the mass produced syrup boosted stuff.

* Not that easy to get, I think we are supposed to drink the mass produced stuff anf the American stuff

*# Getting better, small brewery stuff is more popular as most people are going for the junkier lagers and ciders now.

[Dazed and Confused]

Guinness on the NHS

I know its an old proposal, but given the costs of modern cardiac medicines wouldn't it be a good investment to provide Guinness on the NHS.

[J 3]

A pint a day...

...keeps the doctor away... at the pub! I can't believe no one said that yet...

It must be because it isn't funny. Sorry.

[dreamingspire]

An echo

The late Lord Soper, he of the staunchly teetotal Methodists (he was an ordained Minister and also friend of my father from WWII days), once said that maybe in the afterlife an occasional glass of white wine would be permitted.