Beer enthusiasts have reason to celebrate. German scientists have presented them with a fantastic gift: they found rather significant amounts of an essential vitamin in beer. However, non-alcoholic beer lovers are the most delighted.
In recent years, their numbers have been growing, and the variety of such beers is expanding. And there’s a good amount of Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) in this beverage too: “No significant differences were observed between non-alcoholic and corresponding alcoholic beers,” state the article’s authors. This paper was published in the renowned Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Why is Vitamin B6 considered magical?
Vitamin B6 plays a crucial role in over 150 biochemical reactions (accounting for approximately 4% of all enzyme-involved reactions). It is necessary for the biosynthesis of vital neurotransmitters such as dopamine (the happiness hormone), serotonin (an antidepressant), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (which ensures a balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain). Furthermore, Vitamin B6 is involved in fatty acid metabolism and carbohydrate breakdown.
Its deficiency can manifest in various ways, ranging from depression, seizures, and irritability to dermatitis, anemia, and an increased risk of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and congenital disabilities in children.
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Scientists stocked up well on beer for the study.
The research was conducted by scientists from the Technical University of Munich. They purchased 65 different types of German beer and analyzed them for the content of all forms of Vitamin B6, employing the most modern research methods and equipment.
Their primary objective was to examine non-alcoholic beer. It was previously known that this vitamin is generally present in regular beer containing ethanol. However, data regarding its exact concentration were inconsistent.
The presence of B6 in the foamy beverage is explainable, as it is brewed from barley, wheat, and brewer’s yeast, all of which contain this vitamin. But it remained unknown how the process of removing ethanol during non-alcoholic beer production affects its content.
The highest Vitamin B6 content was found in Bock beer, popular in Germany—a strong and typically dark beer brewed from barley. This was followed by lagers (the classic and most popular beer, accounting for 80% of global sales and 97% in Russia; it can be light, dark, or even black). Wheat beer contained less B6, and rice beer contained the least.
The Vitamin B6 levels in non-alcoholic and regular lager did not differ significantly.
Interestingly, non-alcoholic beer from which ethanol was completely removed after full fermentation showed higher Vitamin B6 levels than low-alcohol beer. For the latter, yeasts that produce less ethanol are used. It can be hypothesized that this results in less Vitamin B6 being extracted from the barley, wheat, and other raw materials.
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How much beer is specifically okay to drink?
What is the precise content of this vitamin, and what proportion of the daily requirement can beer cover? “The average serving of lager (500 ml for men and 250 ml for women – editor’s note) we analyzed provides 16% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin B6 for men (258 µg) and 9.2% (129 µg) for women,” write the authors. Some specific beer samples contained even more; for example, a half-liter bottle of the top non-alcoholic lager contained 27% of the daily requirement for women and 24% for men.
“Non-alcoholic alternatives represent a healthier choice compared to standard beer,” the article’s authors conclude. This is especially true since one can consume more of them without harming one’s health than regular alcoholic beer, for which the recommended limit is 0.5 liters per day for men and 0.25 liters for women.
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