Alcohol consumption (in moderation, 2-3 drinks a day for men) reduces mortality by a whopping 30% compared to non-drinkers. There are numerous studies on this (famous "J-curve" of mortality vs. alcohol consumption, so-called "French paradox" etc.) - major theory behind why is that alcohol reduces risk of cardiovascular deseases and reduces stress - since heart disease and strokes are a major killer in modern society, regular alcohol consumption is good for you, according to research. Because of social aspects of increased drunk driving and social stigma of alcoholisms and binge-drinking among young adults, health policy experts don't necessarily want to advocate for an increase in alcohol consumption among non-drinkers. But statistically speaking, abstaining from alcohol is worse for you than smoking or being overweight. All of the positive health effects are just from alcohol (reservatrol effect in wine turned out to be fraud) - but low ABV drinks and slow drinking with food is crucial, so in that sense beer is much better than whiskey, vodka, tequila and other hard drinks.
As for traditional styles - Randy Mosher has a lot of research on this. see this interview, for example:
http://beersmith.com/blog/2015/11/15/historical-beer-myths-with-randy-mosher-beersmith-podcast-115/
Bock was never dark. Trappist Ales, Saisons/Farmhouse Ales (never brewed in Farmhouses) and most other belgian styles were "invented" after WWI. Porter ceased to exist in 1970ies except for baltic porter, and was re-defined again. Beers were often serverly under-attenuated. IPAs were aged for many months and sometimes years. Etc.