http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19655312
When i drink a few bottles of the stuff [non-alcoholic beer] i can feel the effect is has on my body straight away!
it is not something that builds up over time, it is a change that is detectable in 48 hours.
I feel the effect very heavily in my body itself rather then say a cognitive energy.
As i drink many bottles the 'sick heavy feeling, coming from my muscles and limbs lifts,
and i am less aware of my body in general, as i usually am far too aware of every inch of
me at all times, im describing a personal experience here but i wanted to convey why i drink it.
I dont know if the beer is available in extract form but i usually find the source materials
better then extracts.
Hops and Polyphenols in Beer
Reading that
study reference you provided, Richard, I would guess that the
hops found in beer may be the main factor improving your ME/CFS symptoms. The study says that the
hop bitter acids in hops have an anti-inflammatory effect, specifically: they block the TNF-alpha induced production of the cytokine IL-6 (and also inhibit: the transactivation of NF-kappaB, activator protein-1, and cAMP-response element-binding protein).
In particular, the study found that out of the various hop bitter acids, the
alpha acids and
beta acids were the most potent in terms of their anti-inflammatory effect (in blocking TNF-alpha induced IL-6, etc), and the
iso-alpha acids were less potent.
Both alpha acids and iso-alpha acids are readily absorbed in the human intestines. However, beta acids are not well absorbed. Ref:
here.
As to the other ingredients in the beer that may also be helping: the
study cited above by merylg says that the
polyphenols in non-alcoholic beer also reduce inflammation, specifically: these polyphenols reduce the cytokine IL-6. As for the source of these beer polyphenols: "
The polyphenols present in brewing come from the grain and, to a lesser extent, the hops". Reference:
here.
So in non-alcoholic beer, both the
alpha & beta acids from hops, and the
polyphenols from grain, would seem to specifically target and reduce the production of IL-6.
IL-6 could be a major player in ME/CFS fatigue and brain fog: when IL-6 was experimentally injected into healthy men, it caused fatigue and a reduced capacity to concentrate (ref:
1).
Hops is available as a supplement, so it might be worth trying good doses of pure hops, to see if this provides the same or better benefits than non-alcoholic beer.
The Healthy Alpha Acids and Iso-Alpha Acids in Hops
You can also buy more concentrated extracts of hops in supplements like
Swanson Vitamins Perluxan Alpha Acids Complex (in UK see
here), which is a standardized hops extract comprising
alpha acids and
iso-alpha acids in a proprietary blend called Perluxan™.
Each 500 mg capsule of this Swanson Perluxan contains 150 mg of alpha acids and iso-alpha acids.
Info on Perluxan Alpha Acids:
Anti-Inflammatory Effects: The alpha acids in Perluxan positively affect many pro-inflammatory markers including: prostaglandin E2, COX-1, COX-2, IL-1, isoprostanes, iNOS, nNOS, TNF-alpha, and NF-kappa-B.
Antioxidant Effects: The alpha acids in Perluxan are potent antioxidants.
The Amount of Iso-Alpha Acids In Beer
The bitterness of beer is measured in International Bitterness Units (IBU).
A beer with a bitterness of 1 IBU contains 1 mg of iso-alpha acids per liter. IBU values for different lagers, beers and stouts range from 3 to 80 IBU.
American lager is 5 to 15 IBU (that is, 5 to 15 mg of iso-alpha acids per liter).
Guinness is 40 IBU (40 mg of iso-alpha acids per liter).
Bitter is 20 to 25 IBU.
Pilsner is 35 to 45 IBU. Reference:
here.
So if we assume say 20 IBU in an average beer, then drinking two liters of this beer a day will provide 40 mg of iso-alpha acids.
Note that beer contains mostly iso-alpha acids, and only tiny traces alpha acids. This is because alpha acids are insoluble in water, until boiled. During boiling, alpha acids are isomerized and changed into iso-alpha acids, which are much more soluble in water.
This is unfortunate, because it is the alpha acids which are more potent than the iso-alpha acids as anti-inflammatories. It would thus seem that the Perluxan supplement, containing 150 mg of alpha acids and iso-alpha acids per capsule, should be a more potent anti-inflammatory, compared to the iso-alpha acids obtained from drinking beer.
Hops From Home Brewing Sellers
You can also buy hops as a home brewing item, from US sellers
here and
here. Some UK sellers of hops are
here and
here.
Different varieties of brewing hops contain differing percentages of alpha acids and beta acids. The hops that have the most alpha acids appear to be:
Warrior hops: alpha acid: 15.0-17.0% / beta acid: 4.5-5.5% (cohumulone: 24%)
Galena hops: alpha acid: 12.5-14.0% / beta acid: 7.5-9.0% (cohumulone: 38-42%)
Simcoe hops: alpha acid: 12.0-14.0% / beta acid: 4.0-5.0% (cohumulone: 15-20%)
Chinook hops: alpha acid: 12.0-14.0% / beta acid: 3.0-4.0% (cohumulone: 29-34%)
Horizon hops: alpha acid: 10.2-16.5% / beta acid: 6.5-8.5% (cohumulone: 16-19%)
The best choice from the above list is a hops with a high alpha acids percentage, and low cohumulone percentage (such as the simcoe or horizon variety of hops). Sources of the figures:
here and
here and
here.
There are five main types of alpha acid, which are called: humulone, cohumulone, adhumulone, posthumulone, prehumulone.
Humulone is the alpha acid with the health benefits. The health benefits of cohumulone are uncertain, and may be negative. So generally you would want to hops that are high in humulone, and low in cohumulone alpha acids. More info:
here.
Have you been out partying since and no time to post......
