I have seen quite a few bit sites and individuals paying attention to beer lately, talking about how beneficial it is and how it can provide you with a number of essential vitamins such as B-vitamins. There are also some who talk about beer providing you with the benefits of HOPS and so much more. Of course, it’s partly stemmed off the recently rising popularity of red wine. But is there any truth to it?

When it comes to beer, yes, it does actually have a number of essential vitamins. It has the benefits of HOPS, and beer has certain chemicals that can help you to improve the bones and decrease the risk of developing osteoporosis. Some would say that moderate beer drinking can actually reduce the risk of hypertension and help you to achieve various other results.

But from what I’ve seen, it’s all publicity and hype. Yes, we all like the idea of justifying our alcohol related habits. We all like the idea that beer might actually be good for us, red wine might actually be good for us, etc. And so in some ways, we come up with “studies” to support our wants rather than the truth. For a real source of vitamins, I would obviously suggest that you use a good multivitamin.

When it comes to red wine, they talk about the reservatrol in it like it’s a miracle. There is a significant amount more reservatrol in grapes, and they find that the alcohol counteracts or degrades the benefits of reservatrol. They say that those who drink one glass of red wine daily actually live longer, by a few years. But they have not said the same for beer. Beer is one of the drinks that actually decreases life expectancy.

Outside of that, obviously the alcohol degrades any vitamins or other benefits associated with beer. And unfortunately, you will find that beer has quite a few empty calories and contributes to quite a bit of fat around the abdominal area. When fat surrounds this particular area, it actually causes an increase in the risk of heart disease and other heart related problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and hypertension. Unfortunately, while some of us like to think of beer as our own personal multivitamin with other benefits, it is far from such. And the studies that suggest it are what could be considered junk studies.

I’ve always had some joint problems since I was younger.  I especially had a lot of pain in my knees in high school, supposedly from growing a lot too fast.  As I graduated high school, joint problems started showing up in other areas like my elbows.  I don’t have arthritis, but I definitely could see it happening down the road.

At first, I didn’t really pay attention to all this.  I just kind of dealt with it and the pain came and went.  But as the pain never disappeared and started hindering some activities, it started getting a little frustrating.

I didn’t know where to start to treat my joint pains.  Since I’ve always been a sporty gal, I looked into some exercises I could do.  I found out that yoga was a good way to stretch out the body and a good way to ease and prevent joint pains.  I’ve always wanted to try yoga but never started it.  This was an opportune moment I guess.

I’ve only done about a week of yoga (I did it every day) but already I feel a difference.  I’m slouching less.  My lower back pains are gone.  My knees still hurt but I think it’s going to need more work than the rest of my body.  The overall experience so far has been great!  For those looking to relieve joint pain (and maybe even lose some weight), look into yoga!  Even 15 minutes a day is enough to make a difference!