Like wine, beer can bring health benefits in moderation. Non-alcoholic beer has recently become very popular, but are these drinks useful? In a pilot study by ACS researchers Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reported that compared to their pre-trial microbiome, men who drank one alcoholic or non-alcoholic camp a day had a more diverse set of gut microbes, which could reduce the risk of certain diseases.

Trillions of microorganisms line the human gastrointestinal tract, directly affecting the well-being of the host. Studies have shown that if more types of bacteria are present, people are generally less likely to develop chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. And beer contains compounds such as polyphenols, as well as microorganisms from its fermentation, which can affect the diversity of microbes in the human intestine. A previously published “crossover” study found that when both men and women drank non-alcoholic light beer for 30 days, the diversity of their gut microbiome increased. Many of the same people were also in the second group who drank the alcoholic version of beer, and it didn’t have the same effect. Several others clinical trials tested the problem, so Ana Faria and her colleagues wanted to know if they would find similar results with men in another type of study – a parallel, randomized trial design – with two separate groups of participants.

In this double-blind study, 19 healthy men were randomly divided into two groups who drank 11 liquid ounces of alcoholic or non-alcoholic camp with dinner for 4 weeks. The researchers found that the weight of the participants body mass index and serum markers of heart health and metabolism did not change during the study. But at the end of the 4-week period, both groups had a greater diversity of bacteria in the gut microbiome and higher levels of fecal alkaline phosphatase, indicating improved gut health. The researchers suggest that these results may differ from the results of the previous study due to different test designs and because participants lived in different communities. But based on that pilot studyresearchers say consuming one bottle of beer, regardless alcohol content, may be beneficial for intestinal microbiome and intestinal health of men. However, they add that since the safest level of alcohol consumption does not exist, non-alcoholic beer may be a healthier choice.