March 17, 2008

Does Green Beer Have More Vegetable Goodness?

[By Merry]

In honor of my cultural heritage, and all that stuff, I have to put in a limerick today:

There once was a poet named Crabby
Whose blog had more hits than Dear Abby
Until that one day
Merry came to play
And turned her cream puff to kohlrabi.

(Whaddya mean I should stick to Haiku?)

[Now Crabby must sneak in and interject: Untrue! OK, Crabby will scoot back out now and turn this post back over to its rightful owner].

Hey, did you just see a crab scuttle past? Wow she can scoot fast!

No leprechauns were harmed in the writing of this blog

I figured since it's St. Paddy’s day, all the people out in blogland are up to their elbows in green beer today. So a limerick and a post about beer seem the right way to celebrate. Don't want to overdo the Irishness. Anyway, to me Erin Go Bragh sounds like advice you’d give a woman who should not wear tube tops, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

Beer, beer, glorious beer! (Sometimes it's good for you)

You already know that beer is good for a post-hydration workout. If green beer is made with vegetables, then it must be even more good for you! (Oh wait. It's not made with vegetables. Is vegetable dye nutritious?)

Anyway, research suggests that having a pint of Guinness a day can help reduce blood clotting, thus providing the same health benefit as taking an aspirin a day to prevent heart attacks. (Or so 'tis said. Note: having more than one pint does not provide more health benefits.)

Some busy little Beavers at Oregon State University (as opposed to the University of Oregon, these distinctions are very important) have discovered that xanthohumol, a flavonoid compound found only in hops (and beer) has anti-cancer properties. Yes, drinking beer might help prevent cancer.

Plus, you can use beer to cook with. Six Tips for Cooking with Beer

If you plan to drink green beer today and need some more rationalizations, here are 10 reasons beer is good for your health. You might want to take some these recommendations with a grain of salt -- no wait, that's for tequila. Still, I wondered about how they could claim beer is good for your liver. The study was taken from the "Beer Net publication," and it might well be a completely impartial study. In an infinite universe, anything's possible.

The latest trend: drunk, stupid young women

On the other hand, beer isn't always good for you. Quite apart from the damage involved in driving under any influence, there's a new trend out there. (Or rather, an old trend that's been in the news lately, so it qualifies as new.) People, usually younger women, have been 'banking' their calories, starving themselves during the day so they can go out and drink at night while keeping within their calorie range. Drunkorexia, the NY Times called it. Crazy would be my word for it. There are women who are afraid to put a grape in their mouth, but have no problem drinking a beer.

Okay, ladies, when people use the phrase "drunk and stupid" they mean that you're supposed to act stupid when you're drunk, not when you're sober. (I can feel sympathy for people who are anorexic and can't help themselves, but people willingly starving themselves so they can get drunk but stay on their diet calorie-wise? No.)

I don't care how many reasons there are that beer is good for you, other things are good for you too, such as vegetables, sleeping, and regular daily reading of health and fitness blogs. Proportion, that's the ticket.

Moral: Run first. Beer second.

I'd hate to be the only blogger out in blogland who hasn't mentioned this guy:

As if to prove that it's possible to have a beer and still be fit, a 101 year old man plans to run the London Marathon.
Working plumber Buster Martin ran the Roding Valley half marathon in Essex in five hours 13 minutes, and is now focusing on London's 26-mile event. On finishing the run, the first words of the ex-member of rock band The Zimmers [British for walking frames] were: "Where's my beer?"


And, of course, the obligatory (bad) Irish joke:

Merry: You know why St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland?
Crabby: Okay, I’ll ask. Why?
Merry: Because snakes had been knocking back the Guinness all night and were in no condition to drive, of course!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

The beer vs. vegetables debate courtesy of flickr.

18 comments:

  1. The day Crabby gets more hits than Dear Abby will never, alas, arrive--but I suspect you were just trying very very hard to avoid the more obvious rhyme, "Flabby."

    In any event, having such a wonderful co-blogger is more like Beer and Cupcakes (a tasty and now, apparently, even somewhat healthy combination) and not at all like kohlrabi, which I have to confess I'm not even sure what it is but it doesn't sound good.

    So drinking beer can prevent cancer? Must figure out some way to celebrate hearing this information.... hmmm...

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  2. So I've been wasting my money on rat poison (Warfarin) to prevent blood clots when I could be having a Guinness?! This is an outrage. An outrage I say!
    Sigh.

    On a happier note: Erin Go Bragh!

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  3. Oh, dear. Beer. Good for us?! Woohoo.
    Starving oneself all day in order to drink beer? Well, you'd certainly save money, 'cause drinking on an empty stomach makes you get drunk faster...

    Waddayamean, more than one a day isn't good for us? Ya can't bank 'em for the week and drink them all at once? Where's the fun it that?!
    Great post, Merry.
    Happy St. Paddy's!

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  4. Must confess: I've never actually tasted kohlrabi. (I hope it's not pronounced kohl-rahhhbi.) Don't see too many studies about it either. Not compared to beer, anyway.

    Slainte!

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  5. Happy St. Patty's day to all! My first trip out of the hemisphere was to Ireland! The people were terrific and I enjoyed my trip to the emerald isle immensely! I don't think snakes and beer have a connection, but maybe after having a few, it will become clear.

    Dr. J

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  6. Supposedly there aren't any snakes in Ireland.
    I was always taught that St. Patrick is credited with having driven all the snakes out. Probably a metaphor in that, if you look at it through a beer glass :)

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  7. Never tried green beer, and the best beer (coming from someone who doesn't like beer) I ever sipped was in a Irish pub outside of Shannon - back before I started eating clean. ;)

    Hope you have a happy St. Patrick's Day - thanks for the chuckle! :)

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  8. The whole concept of starving yourself all day only to fill up on beer is a little funny. I mean, you starve yourself, are super hungry, drink excessive amounts of alcohol and then get ridiculously drunk, which will generally have the consequence of causing you to do something either silly or stupid (or both!), and then you likely throw up which is never fun (especially for the sober ones who need to take care of the drunks), and the next day you've got a massive headache. AND to cure the hangover, you're probably going to eat crappy food (not to mention skipping out on any exercise because you feel sick).

    ...who needs logic! :)

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  9. I'm blaming St Patrick's Day for the fact that my stats have been low for 4 days. Too much green beer and no one can remember where they live let alone find their computer!

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  10. Mmmm kohlrabi, Eat it raw, after you cut all the green outside stuff off (like a turnip rind). Tastes like a cross between mild radish and mild turnip. Or you can cook it like turnip, but I find it best raw.

    Allergic to hops, so no beer for me please.

    Happy St. Paddy's all.

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  11. I'll pass on the beer and will be feasting on homemade soda bread and stew today, just like my mammy makes.

    Slainte!

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  12. Silly young women banking calories. Don't they know that if they just drink too much, they can throw up and it's like the whole evening never happened, calorie-wise.

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  13. Whilst I was out blog perusing
    I came upon this - so amusing
    Dear Crabby and Merry
    Kindly bade us "be wary"
    Of starving oneself afore boozing

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  14. INteresting and fun post. :-)

    I've been too busy to stop by and I've been missing my Crabby posts.

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  15. Love the limmerick! Also love Kohlrabi and I will come here anyday over Dear Abby.

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  16. I've always liked a cold beer on a hot day...or in a hot bathtub! :)
    I'm currently brewing a batch of strawberry wheat beer. I mean wheat & fruit...has to be good for you right? :)

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  17. LOVE the note about drunkerxia as the new trend...haha I have never heard it put like that, but that's exactly what it is. I'm in a sorority in college and it's crazy how many girls starve themselves just to drink. And it's not like starving yourself and then drinking rum and diets which are the least caloric, but it's more like starving yourself to drink budweiser and budlight HELLO. My room mate last year getting ready for spring break would eat a veggie burger for lunch and veggies for dinner and then drink 7nights of the week. Although she did lose SOME weight...seriously how healthy is that? And guess what...she's gained back the weight plus 10! It's crazy and DUMB just like you said. Anyways, I loved your tone and the way you put it. I definitely second that.

    Carrie
    thecollegeskinny.com

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  18. I just wanted to let you know that this post has been stollen and reposted on someone else's blog. http://www.yalucoo.com/?p=56

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