What beer rumors are still flying?

"Beer that uses hop extract is 'chemical beer', 'beer belly' is caused by drinking beer, and high purine content in beer causes gout." Have you ever believed such rumors? Searching for keywords such as "beer belly", "gout", and "hop extract" on the Internet will yield millions of relevant information. Over the years, these rumors and misunderstandings about beer have persisted and even intensified, leaving consumers at a loss and causing the industry to suffer unjustifiable grievances. So how can we correctly understand the relationship between beer and human health? What is the "chemical beer" circulating on the Internet? The Internet is full of posts claiming that "hop extract is a chemical preparation, and chemical beer is made with hop extract." There are also rumors that "hop extract is a chemical substance that inhibits the reproduction of beer microorganisms. Drinking it will cause dizziness, palpitations and other reactions, which are harmful to the human body." Experts pointed out that the claim that "hop extract is unsafe, will reduce the quality of beer and even be harmful to health" is nonsense. Zhang Wujiu, a national brewing master and vice president of the Chinese Institute of Food Fermentation Industry, said that this is a misunderstanding. "People who don't know the truth have misinterpreted beer made with carbon dioxide hop extract as chemical beer."
Zhang Wujiu said that hops are one of the necessary raw materials for making beer, and they mainly provide bitterness and hop aroma for beer. The source of bitter substances is bitter acid in hops. Extracting bitter acid from hops and using it in beer making can not only greatly improve the efficiency of hop use, but also make bitter substances purer.
"Carbon dioxide is a colorless and non-toxic gas at room temperature and pressure, and is the main component of human exhaled gas. Carbon dioxide can become a supercritical fluid between gas and liquid under high pressure. This supercritical fluid has the high solubility of liquid and the high diffusivity of gas." Zhang Wujiu said that the use of supercritical carbon dioxide can efficiently and pollution-free extract the bitter substances in hops, and then use it in beer making. It is an advanced, legal, harmless physical extraction technology, which has nothing to do with chemical preparations.

High purine in beer causes gout?

In the general public's perception, "drinking beer causes gout" is the most widely circulated and common saying. Is there a scientific basis for this statement? What is the truth? Experts point out that it is incorrect to say that the high purine content in beer leads to a high incidence of gout.
Gout is a common disease in modern society. It is caused by the deposition of uric acid crystals in joints (characterized by the formation of sodium urate crystals in the synovial fluid of the joint cavity), soft tissues, bones, cartilage and kidneys, etc., causing foreign body inflammatory reactions in tissues, and the clinical manifestations are hyperuricemia.
Yu Zhimin, a professor at the Institute of Basic Theory of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said, "Hyperuricemia and gout can be divided into primary and secondary types. About 80% of primary hyperuricemia and gout are polygenic genetic diseases, caused by genetic mutations of rate-limiting enzymes related to purine metabolism, which lead to disorders in the body's own purine metabolism. Secondary hyperuricemia is caused by increased uric acid due to diet and treatment, or reduced uric acid excretion due to kidney disease or certain drugs."
Yu Zhimin said that the relationship between gout and beer should be divided into two parts. One is whether drinking beer can cause gout, and the other is whether gout patients can drink beer. Gout patients have abnormal purine metabolism, and clinically require that beer be banned or used with caution. Will drinking beer cause gout? There are many causes of gout, and there is no direct connection with beer. For those with abnormal purine metabolism, in the early stage of gout, excessive drinking leads to abnormal alcohol metabolism in the human body, which can induce gout. Therefore, inappropriate and excessive drinking is the main cause.
Liu Ailing, director of the Nutrition Communication Office of the Nutrition and Health Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that studies have shown that 20% of the body's purine comes from food. Excessive intake of high-purine foods (such as seafood, beans, fungi, etc.) will increase the purine content in the blood, thereby leading to increased blood uric acid. For gout patients, it is necessary to appropriately limit the purine content in the diet. Experts say that foods with a purine content of less than 250 mg per 1 kg are low-purine foods and can be eaten as usual. Foods with a purine content of 250 to 1500 mg are restricted, and foods with a purine content of more than 1500 mg are high-purine foods and should be avoided. Studies have found that the total purine content in common domestic beer is between 38 and 151 mg/L, with an average total purine content of 74.9 mg/L. From a medical point of view, beer is an unrestricted food.

Is the "beer belly" caused by drinking beer?

In daily life, people often use "beer belly" to describe a person's obesity, so is the beer belly caused by drinking beer? Zhang Wujiu refuted this statement.
Zhang Wujiu said that "beer belly" is a widely misunderstood word. It originally described the fat belly as bulging after drinking a few bottles of beer. However, it is now often misunderstood as "the fat belly is caused by drinking beer". In essence, the main component of the fat belly is fat, which is the result of long-term excessive energy intake without timely consumption. Even women who never drink beer will also have a beer belly if they have long-term excessive energy intake.
Zhang Wujiu said that as far as beer itself is concerned, its energy is not high. First, the water content of beer exceeds 90%, and second, beer is fermented from grain raw materials. Grains release heat during the fermentation process. Therefore, from the perspective of energy conservation, the energy of the contents of beer is lower than the grain raw materials used to make it.
Professor Yu Zhimin said that any excessive diet will cause health problems, leading to a qualitative change from quantitative change. Drinking should be scientific and reasonable, and a correct drinking concept should be established.
"There are many reasons for obesity. One is the unreasonable diet structure, eating more animal food and relatively less cereal food, vegetables and fruits. The second is low energy consumption and less physical exercise." Liu Ailing believes that we drink beer mostly in an environment where we dine out. We may drink more beer, but more importantly, we eat more meat, less vegetables, and greasy food. These factors hidden behind the beer are the main causes of obesity. We advocate drinking in moderation and drinking in a civilized manner. ”

“Five-in-one” smashes food rumors

After years of rapid development, the concentration of my country’s beer industry has further increased, and it has entered the stage of close combat between oligopolies. However, in recent years, due to factors such as the slowdown in economic growth and the overall sluggish consumption environment, the growth rate of beer production has continued to decline. In 2014, China’s beer production showed negative growth for the first time.
He Yong, executive vice secretary-general of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association and secretary-general of the Beer Branch, said that the production and sales volume of the beer industry has declined for two consecutive years. Among them, there are problems with the market adaptability of the product structure and seasonal climate problems. At the same time, it is not unrelated to the negative image of beer in the minds of consumers. The healthy development of the beer industry is plagued by rumors and negative rumors. False rumors certainly need to be interpreted, and exaggerated rumors also need to be clarified.
“Advocating rational drinking is an important concept that the beer industry has always promoted and implemented. Promoting rational drinking is also an important manifestation of corporate social responsibility. "He Yong said.
As for rumor governance, at the forum, Yan Jiangying, director of the News and Publicity Department of the State Food and Drug Administration, believed that food rumors not only harm the public's hearing and vision, but also affect industrial development and the country's image. To govern food rumors, we must take strong measures and stimulate the participation of multiple social forces, so that government departments, professional institutions, related enterprises, news media, and the public can form a joint force to crush food rumors.
Yan Jiangying said that the Internet has become a gathering place for all kinds of rumors. The State Food and Drug Administration hopes to spread correct food safety knowledge and guide the public to consume scientifically through the platform of the "China Food Rumor Refuting Alliance".