The Nutritional Components of Beer and Its Relationship with Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

The prevalence of degenerative diseases has risen in western countries. Growing evidence suggests that demenia and other cognition affectations are associated with ambient factors including specific nutrients, food ingredients or specific dietary patterns. Mediterranean diet adherence has been associated with various health benefits and decreased risk of many diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders. Beer, as part of this protective diet, contains compounds such as silicon and hops that could play a major role in preventing brain disorders. In this review, different topics regarding Mediterranean diet, beer and the consumption of their main compounds and their relation to neurological health have been addressed. Taking into account published results from our group and other studies, the hypothesis linking aluminum intoxication with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease and the potential role of regular beer has also been considered. Beer, in spite of its alcohol content, may have some health benefits; nonetheless, its consumption is not adequate for all subjects. Thus, this review analyzed some promising results of non-alcoholic beer on several mechanisms engaged in neurodegeneration such as inflammation, oxidation, and cholinesterase activity, and their contribution to the behavioral modifications induced by aluminum intoxication. The review ends by giving conclusions and suggesting future topics of research related to moderate beer consumption and/or the consumption of its major compounds as a potential instrument for protecting against neurodegenerative disease progression and the need to develop nutrigenetic and nutrigenomic studies in aged people and animal models.

Alcohol Use Disorder, Neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease: Interplay Between Oxidative Stress, Neuroimmune Response and Excitotoxicity

“…Alcoholic beverages with lower concentration of ethanol such as beer, when taken in low or moderate amount reduce the risk of developing AD (Mukamal et al, 2003;Kok et al, 2016) and PD (Liu et al, 2013;Zhang D. et al, 2014). Compounds such as purine, niacin, folic acid, and other phenolic compounds in beer were thought to mediate the neuroprotective effects of alcohol (Sánchez-Muniz et al, 2019). Red wine, known to have high antioxidants, when consumed at low or moderate level for eight weeks (blood alcohol level: 13.9-6.9 mM) reduced microglial activation, expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory mediators, post-ischemic neurotrophil infiltration in a rat focal cerebral ischemic model.…”

Preventive Role of L-Carnitine and Balanced Diet in Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Wine or beer (mostly non-alcoholic beer) during main meals are also one of the components of the Mediterranean diet. Beer consumption, and its content of bioavailable silicon, reduces the accumulation of aluminum in the body and brain tissue and lipid peroxidation, and protects the brain against neurotoxic effects by regulating antioxidant enzymes [ 26 ].…”

“…Based on the current evidence, there are no definitive dietary recommendations for the prevention of AD. However, the following dietary advice for lowering the risk of AD and inhibiting cognitive decline, as well as decreasing all-cause mortality in AD patients, is suggested: a high level of consumption of fats from fish, vegetable oils, non-starchy vegetables, and low glycemic index fruit; a diet low in foods with added sugars; and a moderate wine or beer intake should be encouraged [ 26 ].…”

Science and Healthy Meals in the World: Nutritional Epigenomics and Nutrigenetics of the Mediterranean Diet

“…It also appears that this food style is able to reduce the risk of developing various types of cancer [8] and is beneficial in the course of autoimmune diseases [9]. In addition, a more recent paper reports some beer-contained bioactive compounds (e.g., Xanthohumol, Silicon) as potential instruments for protecting against neurodegenerative diseases [10]. In fact, a moderate consumption of beer during main meals must also be recorded as a recent additional component of the MD [11].…”