Anybody concerned about this hobby on their health?

I'm sure this thread is going to generate its fair share of comical comments, but I wanted to ask it anyway.

Is anyone honestly concerned about the effects this hobby is having on their health, whether it be liver sclerosis or weight gain? I'm not really looking for advice or support, but I wanted to gauge what the overall honest opinion is from other homebrewers.

In the last year and 1/2, I've put on 10-15lbs and I am still in pretty good shape but moving toward that range where I don't want to go. I'm very much concerned about the weight I now have to get rid of as well as the work I have to put in to keep it off. In addition, the long term effects of this hobby on my liver concern me as well.

I know, I know. "Everything in moderation. What's the point of life if you can't enjoy it. I'd rather die doing what I love than to live an unhappy life" Insert your cliche here, but is there anyone else that shares some of my same sentiments?

One thing I know for sure is that the death rate for all human beings is 100%! None will get out alive so drink up, LOL!

Liver problems?? You would need to be an alcoholic or have a pre existing condition. Weight gain?? You would have that same problem eating to much food. Your liver can get stressed with many things not just alcohol. Some much worse in stuff we drink and eat everyday.

Bottle conditioned beer is healthier,if concerned drink session beers.Also if you have good discipline drink one or two a day max. Ive gained weight from commercial craft beer research and i eat salads almost daily reduce breads/pastas and exercise heavily at least every other day for 1-2 hrs.I struggle to drink one or two or none a day too.
Heres a cliche Live to eat,eat to live.I try to eat to live and drink good beer too.Eat good and exercise often.Beer has good carbs they take you a long way, i find that an apple and coffee does too.
Overeating and obeseity is as detrimental on you liver as drinking heavily. A glass of beer is heathier than a pasterized glass of sugary juice from the supermarket.Especially bottle conditioned homebrew. All that heavy fructose is not good to consume often.

Moderation is the key. Your liver is not going to get stressed and diseased from a beer or two a night. Unless your tackling a case or two on the weekends as well... As for the weight, get a food journal. Figure out what you need to stay at calorie wise hit that mark with food, then exercise enough so you can counter act a HB or 2.

This forum is like 95% libertarian so no matter how bad it may be on your body pepole will be for a person's right to do it.

On a side note there are tons of alcoholics that never created their own alcohol and plenty of healthy well balanced drinker that have never brewed. Like wise there are alcoholics that produce their own alcohol and plenty of healthy well balanced drinker that brew. If your a drunk your a drunk no matter where you get it.

Why Alcohol's unsavory effects? Why not Soda, or McDonald's, or bacon, or smoking?Your argument is the same as Guns kill people, except it's the beer that is at fault not the person. People make choices. People need to stop passing blaming onto inanimate objects and take responsibility.

I drink craft beer to stay healthy.

Gary

Interesting responses. Reading them makes me sound paranoid. I had already decided to cut food out of my diet so I can drink more beer. :cross:....... Not all food, just the unhealthy garbage.

I've actually dropped over ten pounds since I started home brewing. It might not seam like much, but that was 5% of my total weight. I drink at least one beer a day and sometimes quite a few more. I simply make sure I balance the rest of my diet so that I don't need to remove beer from it.

My main concern is the weight loss my bank account is currently experiencing due to this hobby.

I, myself, have weighed about 130 for the past 20 years. I am not that concerned about it.

Cocaine diet, works every time.

Seriously, if you have one or two a night, I don't think it's a big deal. Or just drink on weekends. Or walk more. Or get out of the hobby. Lemme know what equipment you have, maybe I"ll take some of it off your hands.

I had a scare with enzymes, and was actually denied for life insurance, but I've way cut back since then. As far as weight, I've never worried because working out is one of my hobbies on par with this one. I'm in the gym for at least an hour every day and try to keep myself at a very high intensity level. I skipped today because I was just bored as hell and have been beating myself up over it all day. Keep up a good workout program, and you can really get away with drinking a lot (weight-wise at least).

Do you believe your weight gain is from drinking beer? I've been drinking beer for 3 decades now and I have put on 10lbs from the age of 21 to 57, most of that weight gained in the last few years, it just happens as you get older. A couple beers a day is good for you!

I weight less now (151, at 5'11") that I did 5 years ago (176) before I ever started homebrewing. I started running and eating much better in late 2010, and have since run a half marathon and several 10k's. I didn't start exercising necessarily to offset drinking homebrew; it was simply because I was getting pretty winded just going up the stairs in my house!

Granted, in terms of beer consumption I am not a huge drinker, 2-4 on the weekends only for the most part. I'm 43 years old, not 23! As cliched as it is to say it, for me the key has been moderation. I am careful about what I eat during the week so that I can enjoy my beers on the weekend. My exercise (at least 3 days of running per week, and 2 additional days of cross training if my schedule allows) has certainly helped, and I've been consistent with this for over a year now.

I am not concerned about the health effects homebrewing and homebrewed beer has had on me, really just concerned about my health in general. Alcohol in moderation does not cause cirrhosis. (BTW, My wife is a social worker and deals with many alcoholics--these people aren't drinking craft or homebrewed beer, trust me.) Certainly beer can contribute to weight gain, but have you considered other aspects of your lifestyle? Diet? Exercise (or lack of)? Also, with age, metabolism slows. All things to consider. I know you're not looking for advice, but that likely won't stop people from giving it.

Humanity has been brewing and drinking beer since the dawn of civilization. I would be more concerned about the negative effects of TV, cell phones, and the internet.

The great thing about making your own beer is that you can make it healthy if you wanted to. Try making a slightly lower alcohol beer, like 4.5 - 5%. I've also brewed with berries and yerba mate to add an extra antioxidant boost on top of what you'd already get from the hops and grains. Look up other things, you can make beer as healthy or as dangerous as you want. Unless your drinking so much that you're drunk every night, you should be ok liver-wise.

Beer was first made to be liquid bread essentially, so look at it like that. If you eat too much carbs, go for a run.

i make it with all-natural ingredients, so it must be good for me. sometimes i even add fruit, for the anti-oxidants, of course, like a raspberry hefe

16 views / 15 comments
Just saying.

I am a type II diabetic with hypertension. I do monitor my food and beverage intake. A couple of beers is fine as part of the daily calorie intake. It is true moderation works fine. I enjoy brewing homebrew and if I'm only going to have a couple, might as well be good beers.

As far as alcoholics and brewing? I honestly don't think so. There are far easier ways for an alcoholic to get their fix. Having to wait weeks to months just doesn't fit an alcoholic's MO.

weight gain is a combination of aging and calorie intake and activity (or lack of it). The reasons for weight vary in combination.

At my age about 4 beers are the max, not cause it gets me drunk, it doesn't, but because I have the baddler of a 4 year old now, it's almost impossible to get drunk. Too much time peeing.

Simply put the more you drink the less you should eat and exercise more.Or drink less watch what you eat and exercise.I dont advise drinking more but eating less often. though.Ocassionally.Drink less eat less exercise more drink good water.

Nope doesn't concern me one bit I'm still young so I will still drink the **** out my brew and worry when I'm older

LitterBox said:

Interesting responses. Reading them makes me sound paranoid. I had already decided to cut food out of my diet so I can drink more beer. :cross:....... Not all food, just the unhealthy garbage.

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Deprevation won't work. Focus on eating those foods less frequently, and/or in smaller portions. (And f*ck yes, it is hard sometimes, and requires self discipline, and sometimes I give in like everyone else--that's human nature.)

I have lost weight since I started brewing! I've also been counting calories and exercising.

i drank just as much beer before i started the hobby; so, for me, it will have no change on my healh. maybe a little healthier since i know exactly what goes into my beer.

Did you just finish college and start a job where you sit at a desk all day? Cuz that's what happened to me. My diet and exercise stayed the same but I lost my teenage metabolism, sat on my @$$ at a job I hated, and put on about 25 pounds in 2 years.

jonmohno said:

Simply put the more you drink the less you should eat and exercise more.Or drink less watch what you eat and exercise.I dont advise drinking more but eating less often. though.Ocassionally.Drink less eat less exercise more drink good water.

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<drinking>

I don't eat because I get a sandwich in every glass of homebrew.

Personally, I think they should add a new food group for beer.

Seriously though, I read an article once, thought I had it bookmarked but can't find it, that said that beer is actually beneficial to the male diet and could be why we love it so much (other than the fact that it tastes great and gives you a buzz). It had something to do with copper. If I remember right, it said that beer is a good source of nutritional copper and that men need more of it than females do.

make smaller batches.

Actually, there have been studies that show beer, like wine, is good for you in moderation.

Hard to drink in moderation when you brew gallons at a time? Get more friends to take some of the burden off of you. They'll be happy to help you drink it. Anybody who brews beer and doesn't have friends has issues. Even if you didn't have any before, you should have some now. Just having friends to drink with can have very positive effects on your health.

Still have too much beer? Start a microbrewery.

So there you go. Brewing beer is medically and economically more beneficial to you than the alternative.

Your welcome.

There have been studies that drinking a beer after exercising is better than drinking water and it replaces key nutrients. http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/drinkbeerworkout.html it may just be "bro science" but just like you said in the OP moderation is key. Anything in excess is bad for you. If you drink too much and get drunk you tend to lose inhibitions and eat more. I have noticed in myself that if i go out and have a day/night drinking and eating i will gain as much as 10 to 12 pounds and then in a few days when i get my eating back on track im back down to where i was before... Its water/ sodium weight.... but i understand ur concern... we all struggle with it... ur certainly not alone

Eat right watch you carbs (make sure they are complex oats wheat bread instead of white things like that) drink plenty of water and when ya wanna have a few beers exercise and the beers will be a reward.

Draft mag just covered drinking and running...cant remember the specifics but beer didn't effect runners as much as you'd think

Been brewing just over 1 year and have lost 30 lbs since I now drink only home brew or craft beer. I actually drink more now than I did before I started brewing. Simply changed where the carbs are coming from. Eat more protein and less carbs so I can drink my carbs. All things in moderation...thats the key.

I never got plastered with homebrew

I have gotten drunk (puking) drinking commerical brew a few times in my life.

Home brew, I might of had a small buzz but nothing else. For some reason I enjoy the homebrew and not the buzz from it.

Its weird, isn't it?

I'm not terribly concerned about how beer affects my health. Like others have said, it has benefits similar to wine when taken in moderation. I have 1-2 a night like others here as well.

Hell, I gained more weight from quitting smoking than when I started brewing beer. In fact I don't think I gained anything when I started brewing. Nicotine does that to you. Having a significant other tends to make me gain weight too. :fro:

Here lately me and my girlfriend have been using MyFitnessPal on our phones to keep track of our caloric intake and excersise. So far we've both put off 5 lbs in the past 2-3 weeks.

TzeentchPlayer said:

I'm not terribly concerned about how beer affects my health. Like others have said, it has benefits similar to wine when taken in moderation. I have 1-2 a night like others here as well.

Hell, I gained more weight from quitting smoking than when I started brewing beer. In fact I don't think I gained anything when I started brewing. Nicotine does that to you. Having a significant other tends to make me gain weight too. :fro:

Here lately me and my girlfriend have been using MyFitnessPal on our phones to keep track of our caloric intake and excersise. So far we've both put off 5 lbs in the past 2-3 weeks.

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Keep it up bro! small changes over the course of a few months can add up

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/17/one-mans-crazy-diet-nothing-but-beer-and-water/

*ahem* lurker post

Actually, I was reading some health articles a few months back, that Non-Alcoholic Beer(gay) Is one of the best possible things you can drink AFTER exercise. It turns out, the high water content + protein, carbs, calories, PLUS the major compounds from brewers yeast we're missing in our diets is about the best thing you can put in your body post work out. The ONLY thing bad for you in beer is the alcohol... That magical mysterious alcohol...

OP LOL, not at all. I drink like a good deal. I had a standard blood panel two weeks ago, liver perfect, kidney perfect, weight in check (1 hour of cardio a day at least prolly helps), everything was perfect. I'm not worried at all.

I would have to say examine the other lifestyle choices before pinning the extra weight on the beer. I drink a ton of water during the day, and my sodium intake effects my weight more than anything else. I also try to not drink 2-3 nights out of the week