Perceived as convivial and thirst-quenching, beer has become the favorite alcoholic drink of the French, ahead of wine and champagne, according to the Sowine/Dynata 2022 barometer. Whether dark, blond, white or amber, it is particularly popular with beautiful days when served chilled and sparkling. But be careful because beer drunk in quantity is one of the worst enemies of the liver and pancreas, as explained by doctor Réginald Allouche, doctor and biomedical engineer whose latest book “The new anti-diabetes method” has just been published. published by Flammarion editions.
Why do you advise against drinking too much beer?
Dr. REGINALD ALLOUCHE. Beer is nothing but liquid fermented starch, that is to say a combination of sugar and alcohol. It contains a lot of malt sugar – or maltose – which weakens the organs by inducing in the long run a discreet inflammation in the body. It also has an extremely high glycemic index, an index that measures its impact on blood sugar levels: from 110 to 120… on a scale that goes from 0 to 100! This is probably the food that raises blood sugar the most, including sodas and white bread. The sugars and alcohol provided by the beer are directly absorbed and then transported to the liver. It will then quickly saturate. In heavy beer drinkers, it ends up seeping fat and malfunctioning. Sugars will also fill the adipocytes – fat cells – in the abdomen, resulting in significant weight gain, as well as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
So should it be banned altogether?
There is no point in completely depriving yourself of beer, but it is preferable to drink it only exceptionally, ideally once or twice a month maximum, and not every day to cool off in summer, especially when you are already Overweight. To avoid diabetes and liver overload, I also recommend that drinkers practice regular physical activity called “cardio” to prevent the onset of diabetes and increase the detoxification capacity of the liver. These are indeed doubled when cycling or running, for example.
Which alcohol is better to replace it with?
Wine is a good alternative, insofar as it contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules capable of partially offsetting the harmful effects of alcohol… provided that you limit yourself to one glass a day. It is better to opt for red wine, rather than white or rosé wine which is often consumed in larger quantities and which contain more sugar. The red wines to favor for health are those richest in tannins: Bordeaux, Côtes-du-Rhône, Languedoc… As for champagne, I recommend choosing it vintage because it contains less sugar (3 g/100 g ) than the same non-vintage champagne (from 6 to 12 g/100 g).