When I was a student at Duke in the seventies, the beer flowed.
But I barely touched it. Just didn’t like the flavor.
After I married Cliff, I took sips of his beers over the years. But only sips. I was a wine and mixed drink kind of girl.
Then bam! Swoosh! Gulp!
About five years ago, I began ordering my own beer.
Why the switch to beer in midlife?
I had no clue until Chris Bradshaw of Boombox Network, posted this article on Facebook:
Beer: The Natural Menopause Treatment
Menopause!
Seems that hops have estrogen-like qualities. The article reports:
“Hops have long been suspected of having an impact on the hormonal system.
Before your advent of machine pickers, girls and girls picked the plant life at harvest, and would often spend 3 weeks accomplishing this. It was observed amongst the young girls picking hops that their menstrual periods would occur early.
But it wasn’t until hops was studied scientifically that result was explained and endorsed.
It turns out that hops contains very good levels of phytoestrogens – among 30, 000 IU to 3 hundred, 000 IU per 100 grams.”
The article explains some of the science:
“Phytoestrogens are estrogen-like plant compounds that are also in alternative menopause therapies like soy. They work simply by binding to estrogen receptors, therefore provide a mild estrogenic impact on the body.
Phytoestrogens are quite a bit less strong as regular estrogen, however as estrogen levels decline throughout menopausal women, this boost of estrogen incorporates a balancing effect on the body.”
So the hops are hoppin’ good for our menopausal woes?
Who knows for sure. Let’s hope science continues to study beer and menopause.
Let’s hope science continues to study EVERYTHING about menopause.
Even if beer (in moderation, of course) is only a temporary balm for the woes of menopause, I say, “Bottoms up!”
Another Article: Here’s more info,with the results of several studies and some thinking on the positive connection between hops and bone loss.
Non-alcoholic beers: They contain hops too!
Beer Above: A 37th anniversary beer with Cliff in August. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Beer Below: A beer-rita with Laura in early September. Dallas, Texas. Here’s how to make a beer-rita without a miniature beer bottle. (I do wonder if the restaurant washes the bottle before dunking it into the drink.)
Friend For The Ride 