Editing Beer (section)

==Health effects==

{{See also|Short-term effects of alcohol consumption |Long-term effects of alcohol consumption }}

A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis found that moderate ethanol consumption brought no mortality benefit compared with lifetime abstention from ethanol consumption.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stockwell |first1=Tim |last2=Zhao |first2=Jinhui |last3=Panwar |first3=Sapna |last4=Roemer |first4=Audra |last5=Naimi |first5=Timothy |last6=Chikritzhs |first6=Tanya |title=Do "Moderate" Drinkers Have Reduced Mortality Risk? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Alcohol Consumption and All-Cause Mortality |journal=J Stud Alcohol Drugs |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=185–98 |date=March 2016 |pmid=26997174 |pmc=4803651 |doi= 10.15288/jsad.2016.77.185}}</ref> Some studies have concluded that drinking small quantities of alcohol (less than one drink in women and two in men, per day) is associated with a ''decreased'' risk of [[heart disease]], [[stroke]], [[diabetes mellitus]], and early death.<ref name="Kee2014">{{cite journal |last1=O'Keefe|first1=J.H. |last2=Bhatti|first2=S.K. |last3=Bajwa|first3=A. |last4=DiNicolantonio|first4=J.J. |last5=Lavie|first5=C.J. |title=Alcohol and cardiovascular health: the dose makes the poison...or the remedy. |journal=Mayo Clinic Proceedings |date=March 2014 |volume=89 |issue=3 |pages=382–93 |pmid=24582196 |doi=10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.11.005 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Some of these studies combined former ethanol drinkers and lifelong abstainers into a single group of nondrinkers, which hides the health benefits of lifelong abstention from ethanol. The [[Long-term effects of alcohol consumption|long-term health effects]] of continuous, moderate or heavy alcohol consumption include the risk of developing [[alcoholism]] and [[alcoholic liver disease]]. [[Alcoholism]], also known as "alcohol use disorder", is a broad term for any drinking of [[ethanol|alcohol]] that results in problems.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jill |last=Littrell |title=Understanding and Treating Alcoholism Volume I: An Empirically Based Clinician's Handbook for the Treatment of Alcoholism: Volume II: Biological, Psychological, and Social Aspects of Alcohol Consumption and Abuse|date=2014 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=Hoboken |isbn=9781317783145 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2k57AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 |quote=The World Health Organization defines alcoholism as any drinking which results in problems}}</ref> It was previously divided into two types: [[alcohol abuse]] and [[alcohol dependence]].<ref name="NIH2003">{{cite journal |last1=Hasin |first1=Deborah |title=Classification of Alcohol Use Disorders |url=http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-1/5-17.htm |journal=Alcohol Research & Health |access-date=28 February 2015 |date=December 2003 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=5–17 |pmid=15301396|pmc=6676702 |archive-date=18 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318014903/http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-1/5-17.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="NIH2013">{{cite web |title=Alcohol Use Disorder: A Comparison Between DSM–IV and DSM–5 |url=http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/dsmfactsheet/dsmfact.htm |access-date=9 May 2015 |date=November 2013}}</ref> In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions are present: a person drinks large amounts over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, [[Alcohol withdrawal syndrome|withdrawal]] occurs when stopping, and [[alcohol tolerance]] has occurred with use.<ref name="NIH2013" /> Alcoholism reduces a person's life expectancy by around ten years<ref name="Schu2014">{{cite journal |last1=Schuckit |first1=M.A. |title=Recognition and management of withdrawal delirium (delirium tremens).|journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |date=27 November 2014 |volume=371 |issue=22 |pages=2109–13 |pmid=25427113 |doi=10.1056/NEJMra1407298 |s2cid=205116954 |url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/08b9z9th}}</ref> and alcohol use is the third leading cause of early death in the United States.<ref name="Kee2014" /> No professional medical association recommends that people who are nondrinkers should start drinking alcoholic beverages.<ref name="Kee2014" /><ref>[http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/Alcohol-and-Heart-Health_UCM_305173_Article.jsp ''Alcohol and Heart Health''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119121521/http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/Alcohol-and-Heart-Health_UCM_305173_Article.jsp |date=19 January 2016 }} American Heart Association</ref> In the United States, a total of 3.3 million deaths per year (5.9% of all deaths) are believed to be due to alcohol.<ref name="NIH2015Stats">{{cite web |title=Alcohol Facts and Statistics |url=http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics |access-date=9 May 2015 |archive-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518081638/http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Overeating and lack of muscle tone is the main cause of a [[beer belly]], rather than beer consumption, though a 2004 study found a link between [[binge drinking]] and a beer belly.<ref>{{cite news |title=Drink binges 'cause beer belly'|work=BBC News|date=28 November 2004|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4048969.stm|access-date=6 November 2006}}</ref> Several diet books quote beer as having an undesirably high [[glycemic index]] of 110, the same as [[maltose]]; however, the maltose in beer undergoes [[metabolism]] by yeast during fermentation so that beer consists mostly of water, hop oils and only trace amounts of sugars, including maltose.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bob |last=Skilnik|title=Is there maltose in your beer? |publisher=Realbeer |url=http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/maltose.php |access-date=23 December 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071219202244/http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/maltose.php |archive-date=19 December 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The multi-step process of beer production is effective at removing [[pesticide]] residues from grain. At each step (e.g. mashing or malting) pesticide levels are typically reduced by 50-90%, varying with the particular process and pesticide's chemical properties.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaczyński |first1=Piotr |last2=Iwaniuk |first2=Piotr |last3=Hrynko |first3=Izabela |last4=Łuniewski |first4=Stanisław |last5=Łozowicka |first5=Bożena |title=The effect of the multi-stage process of wheat beer brewing on the behavior of pesticides according to their physicochemical properties |journal=Food Control |date=June 2024 |volume=160 |pages=110356 |doi=10.1016/j.foodcont.2024.110356}}</ref>

A 2013 study found that the [[Flavour (taste)|flavour]] of beer alone could provoke [[dopamine]] activity in the brain of the male participants, who wanted to drink more as a result. The 49 men in the study were subject to [[positron emission tomography]] scans, while a computer-controlled device sprayed minute amounts of beer, water and a [[sports drink]] onto their tongues. Compared with the taste of the sports drink, the taste of beer significantly increased the participants desire to drink. Test results indicated that the flavour of the beer triggered a [[dopamine]] release, even though alcohol content in the spray was insufficient for the purpose of becoming intoxicated.<ref>{{cite web |title=Beer on the brain: how taste alone can drive men to drink |url=http://theconversation.com/beer-on-the-brain-how-taste-alone-can-drive-men-to-drink-13509 |work=The Conversation |publisher=The Conversation Media Group |access-date=18 April 2013 |first1=Carley |last1=Tonoli |first2=Liz |last2=Minchin |date=16 April 2013}}</ref>