What are hops? Well, a key ingredient in beer, actually, both when it comes to its bitterness and longevity.
“When researchers extract healthful chemicals from hops, they first have to determine whether they have separated out the specific compounds they’re interested in,” explained Kristopher Waynant, Ph.D. and project lead, in a press release.
“But if you can figure out how to make these compounds from scratch, you know they are the right ones.”
Of course, they’re not advocating that you smash back ten beers a day to fight cancer, only that there are components in beer that warrant further study.
The Daily Telegraph once pointed out how beer could reduce the risk of kidney stones, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, while also going some way to strengthening bones, treating cataracts and curing insomnia.
The researchers at the University of Idaho will no doubt continue to work towards discovering as much as they can concerning the anti-cancer properties in beer, with early findings having proven promising.
If that’s not reason to reach for a beer, then we don’t know what is.
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