Are IPAs Healthier Than Other Types Of Beer?

Most of us probably already know that drinking too much alcohol is not good for us. So when it comes to drinking, moderation is definitely key. In fact, excessive alcohol drinking of over eight drinks per week for women or over fifteen drinks for men can lead to a number of health issues, according to the CDC. Heavy drinking has been shown to increase the risk of a number of chronic health problems, including liver disease, dementia, high blood pressure, and many different types of cancer, as well as weaken the immune system and worsen mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

However, moderate drinking, which the Mayo Clinic defines as one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men, may have a few health benefits. Moderate alcohol use may lower one's risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and type two diabetes. A 2018 study has shown that red wine, specifically, has a high antioxidant content and has been linked with a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes, lowered blood pressure, and improved gut microbiota, according to Medical News Today. But while this study might be good news for wine lovers, what about those of us who would prefer a pint of beer over a glass of wine with our dinner?

Unfortunately, beer isn't exactly a healthy food. Drinking beer may lead to weight gain since an average 12-ounce serving typically contains around 153 calories. Beer has also been shown to increase the chance of developing serious illnesses like liver disease, cirrhosis, and cancer. Consuming too much beer may also negatively impact your mood and lead to an increase in depression, according to Healthline.

However, not all beer types are created equally. It turns out that some brews might be worse for you than others. A recent study, conducted by Researchers from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany and published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, seems to have good news for fans of IPAs. The study found that beers that contain a lot of hops, such as IPAs, might be better for your liver than other types of beer or liquor. The researchers examined four different groups of female mice, one that was fed straight ethanol, one that was fed a dose of beer without hops, one that was fed hoppy beer, and one fed a maltodextrin control solution and compared the results of the four different beverages had on the livers of the mice in each group.

The results of the study seemed to indicate that the group of mice that was fed the hoppy beverage showed fewer signs of fat buildup in their livers. The study reported that "alcohol-induced hepatic fat accumulation was significantly attenuated in mice fed beer," according to Alcohol and Alcoholism. In contrast, in "those that were fed beer without hops, hepatic fat accumulation was similar to that found in ethanol-fed mice," meaning that the mice who drank beer without hops and straight ethanol showed similarly elevated levels of fatty buildup in their livers when compared to the control group. The results of the study "suggest that hops in beer markedly attenuated acute alcohol-induced liver steatosis in female mice," per Alcohol and Alcoholism. This means that drinking hoppy beers might cause less liver damage than drinking other types of alcohol, including beer without hops.

However, this still doesn't mean that one can just start downing IPAs daily without risk. IPAs are still beer, and therefore still do carry the chance of increased risk of developing health problems that are associated with alcohol, including cancer, depression, and weight gain. But if you don't want to cut out alcohol completely, but are trying to be more mindful of your health, you just might want to reach for an IPA over a stout, lager, or liquor at your next backyard barbecue.