The Hidden Ingredients In Beer

Original article posted here by Vani Hari or the 'Food Babe'.

Before we get into what exactly is in beer that you should be worried about, let’s talk about how body reacts to alcohol in general.

Alcohol is metabolized by the body differently than all other calories you consume.

Alcohol is one of the only substances that you consume that can permeate your digestive system and go straight into your bloodstream. It bypasses normal digestion and is absorbed into the body intact, where it goes straight into the liver.

Your liver is your main fat-burning organ. If you are trying to lose weight or even maintain your ideal weight, drinking alcohol is one of your worst enemies. The liver is going to metabolize alcohol first vs. the fat you want to get rid of – making weight loss even harder. Additionally, one of the primary functions of the liver is to remove environmental toxins from your body – if it is overtaxed with alcohol, the normal removal of these toxins becomes extremely diminished and can result in rapid aging, loss of libido, and other diseases.

So, inherently, alcohol by itself is not a healthy person’s best friend – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Beer, especially American beer, is made with all sorts of ingredients beyond the basic hops, malt and yeast. There are numerous other ingredients used to clarify, stabilize, preserve, enhance the color and flavor of beer.

When you drink beer, there is almost a 100% chance that you don’t know what you are drinking (unless you quizzed the beer companies like I did). The ingredients in beer are not required by law to be listed anywhere on the label and manufacturers have no legal obligation to disclose the ingredients. For regular beer, calorie levels and percent alcohol are optional and for light beer calories are mandatory but alcohol levels are optional.

Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, author of Appetite for Profit, and president of Eat Drink Politics told me the reason that beer companies don’t disclose ingredients is simple: they don’t have to.

 “Ingredient labeling on food products and non-alcoholic beverages is required by the Food and Drug Administration. But a whole other federal agency regulates beer, and not very well. The Department of Treasury – the same folks who collect your taxes – oversees alcoholic beverages. That probably explains why we know more about what’s in a can of Coke than a can of Bud. You can also thank the alcohol industry, which has lobbied for years against efforts to require ingredient labeling.”

(...) beer sold here in America can contain several of the following ingredients:

• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) –  alcohol is already addictive with some people, but with MSG?! Holy smokes.

• Propylene Glycol (an ingredient found in anti-freeze)

• Calcium Disodium EDTA (made from formaldehyde, sodium cayanide, and Ethylenediamine)

• Many different types of sulfites and anti-microbial preservatives (linked to allergies and asthma)

• Natural Flavors (can come from anything natural including a beavers anal gland)

• High Fructose Corn Syrup

• GMO Sugars – Dextrose, Corn Syrup

• Caramel Coloring (Class III or IV made from ammonia and classified as a carcinogen)

• FD&C Blue 1 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)

• FD&C Red 40 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)

• FD&C Yellow 5 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)

• Insect-Based Dyes: carmine derived from cochineal insects to color their beer.

• Animal Based Clarifiers: Findings include isinglass (dried fish bladder), gelatin (from skin, connective tissue, and bones), and casein (found in milk)

• Foam Control: Used for head retention; (glyceryl monostearate and pepsin are both potentially derived from animals)

• BPA (Bisphenol A is a component in many can liners and it may leach into the beer. BPA can mimic the female hormone estrogen and may affect sperm count, and other organ functions.)

• Carrageenan (linked to inflammation in digestive system, IBS and considered a carcinogen in some circumstances)

During my investigation, I couldn’t get a single mainstream beer company to share the full list of ingredients contained in their beer. But I did get some of them to fess up to the use of these ingredients in writing so I’m going to share this information with you now.

Carcinogenic Caramel Coloring 

Newcastle, a UK brand, confessed to using what I would consider one of the most controversial food additives. Toasted barley is usually what gives beer its golden or deep brown color, however in this case, Newcastle beer is also colored artificially with caramel color. This caramel coloring is manufactured by heating ammonia and sulfites under high pressure, which creating carcinogenic compounds. If beer companies were required by law to list the ingredients, Newcastle would likely have to have a cancer warning label under California law because it is a carcinogen proven to cause liver tumors, lung tumors, and thyroid tumors in rats and mice.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Many of the beers I questioned contained one or more possible GMO ingredients.

• High Fructose Corn Syrup (Guinness – unable to provide an affidavit for non-GMO proof)
• Corn syrup (Miller Light, Coors, Corona, Fosters, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Red Stripe)
• Dextrose (Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch Light, Michelob Ultra)
• Corn (Red Stripe, Miller Coors Brand, Anheuser-Busch Brands)

Most beers brewed commercially are made with more GMO corn than barley. Many of the companies I contacted dodged the GMO question – however Miller Coors had a very forthcoming and honest response. They stated “Corn syrup gives beer a milder and lighter-bodied flavor” and “Corn syrups may be derived from a mixture of corn (conventional and biotech.)”, admitting their use of GMOs.

Pabst Blue Ribbon responded saying their corn syrup was “special” and “made of carbohydrates and some simple sugars like dextrose and maltose.  The sugars are fermented into alcohol and CO2, and the carbohydrates, both from the corn syrup and the malt, remain in the beers as flavor, color and body components.”

Dextrose and maltose can come from a variety of substances that are sweet, but likely are derived from GMO corn because it is super cheap for a company to use corn instead of fruit or other non-GMO sources. With cheap beer – you are not just getting a cheap buzz, you are getting the worst of the worst.  Just like with cheap fast food – if you don’t invest in your beer – you will be drinking a lower quality product like Pabst Blue Ribbon that is made from GMO Corn and Corn Syrup.

In 2007, Greenpeace found unapproved and experimental GMO Rice strain in Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser, Bud Light) beer. Anheuser-Busch responded saying their US-grown long-grained rice “may have micro levels” of a genetically engineered protein called Liberty Link, but added that the protein is “substantially removed or destroyed” during the brewing of beer sold domestically. Don’t you think it’s hard to trust any beer company that gets caught using experimental food made in a laboratory? GMOs have not been tested long term on human beings and one of the main pesticides (Roundup) they spray on GMO crops are linked to inflammation, cancer and other diseases.

High Fructose Corn Syrup & Fish Bladders

Speaking of trusting companies, let’s get one thing straight, Guinness beer is no longer owned by the Irish, they are now owned by a large beer conglomerate called Diageo and manufactured in over 50 different countries. No matter how many St. Patty’s Day celebrations you’ve had with this dark stout, it’s time to stop because they use high fructose corn syrup in their beer (4/2/14 Update: Guinness Beer claims they do not use high fructose corn syrup any longer, but refuses to disclose ingredient affidavits or full of list of ingredients.) But, Guinness beer also contains isinglass, a gelatin-like substance produced from the swim bladder of a fish. This ingredient helps remove any “haziness,” solids, or yeast byproducts from the beer. Mmmmm… fish bladder sounds delicious, doesn’t? The sneaky thing this beer company does like many of the companies mentioned here today is create an illusion of using the best ingredients when in actuality what they tell you publicly on their websites is a complete farce. On Guinness FAQ’s – they have a question that states: “What are the key ingredients in Guinness” and the answer doesn’t reveal the whole picture – it only states “Our key ingredients – other than inspiration – are roasted, malted barley, hops, yeast and water.” What BS, right?  You have to call, email, question and know the right things to ask to even have a chance at getting the truth. This is insanity.

If you know someone who drinks beer  – share this post with them.

These ingredients are no joke. We must inform and protect each other from these industrial chemicals, untested and potentially harmful ingredients and it starts by sharing your knowledge with the ones you love.

Read the full article by Vani Hari or, 'Food Babe'- here.

Sign the petition asking all beer companies to reveal their ingredients, here.

You might also like to check out these posts on GMOs:

DNA from GMOs can pass directly into humans, study confirms

GMOs - The Walking Dead Of The Food Industry

Thanks for reading, and sharing!

To get e-mail notifications of new posts from this blog, contact me at: genevieve-parry@live.com

Diets lacking fresh, whole foods lead to multiple chronic diseases, study confirms

(NaturalNews) It's no secret that a nutritious diet is the key to living a healthy life; however, until now, scientists hadn't produced any studies directly linking poor nutrition to the development of multiple chronic diseases over time.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide's School of Medicine studied more than 1,000 Chinese people over a five-year period. During the analysis, scientists accounted for the participant's overall health, diet and lifestyle.

They found that the proportion of those in the study already having more than one chronic disease increased from 14 percent to 34 percent over the five-year period, as stated in a press release by the University of Adelaide.

"Risk factors such as smoking, lack of physical activity and nutrition are already known to be linked to the development of chronic disease," said the study's co-author, Dr. Zumin Shi.

"But this is the first time research has shown that nutrition itself is directly associated with the development of multiple chronic diseases over time."

The research, which was published in this month's issue of the journal Clinical Nutrition, showed that the people who consumed more fresh fruits and vegetables, and more portions of grains besides just wheat and rice, experienced better overall healthiness.

Consuming whole grains, rather than refined grains, offers a host of benefits including reducing your risk for stroke, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa and wheat berries are all exemplary sources for getting the nutrition you need.

Refined grains, such as white rice, bread or pasta and many breakfast cereals, cookies and cakes, are fattening and can increase inflammation, worsening conditions like arthritis.

Eating healthy carbohydrates transforms the way you metabolize food, providing you with more energy while simultaneously reducing high blood pressure.

Healthy whole grains offer many other benefits like:

    reducing your risk of asthma

    healthier carotid arteries

    reduction of inflammation disease risk

    lower risk of colon cancer

    less gum disease and tooth loss

The participants' rice intake proved to be a significant characteristic in the researcher's study.

"Rice intake was significantly lower in the healthy group. This could be because rice is mainly refined and deprived of the benefits associated with fibres, and the kinds of phytochemicals that you find in whole grains," said Dr. Shi.

Through the research, Dr. Shi highlighted the role that micronutrients play in protecting humans from disease. "A higher daily intake of iron, magnesium, phosphorous, vitamin C, potassium and vitamin B1 was associated with healthier participants," he added.

"Based on our results, it seems that a higher intake of fruit helps to prevent against the onset of the first chronic disease, while a higher intake of vegetables helps to protect against developing more than one chronic disease," said Dr. Shi.

He discovered this by focusing on the transition that people go through from having one disease to multiple diseases and comparing it with their food intake.

"There is already a lot of general nutrition awareness among the population but this study reinforces the need for broad education programs about the benefits of healthy eating," concluded Dr. Shi.

The condition of having multiple chronic diseases is called multimorbidity, which is characterized by "complex interactions of co-existing diseases." Some experts think multimorbidity correlates with age, with elderly people often showing signs of multiple medical conditions.

The new research suggests that maintaining a healthy diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables may treat multimorbidity more safely than prescription drugs, particularly since sometimes taking one drug alters the effect of another, or creates an unhealthy environment for a patient's other chronic illnesses.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014 by: Julie Wilson

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To get e-mail notifications of new posts from this blog, contact me at: genevieve-parry@live.com

DNA from GMOs can pass directly into humans, study confirms

(NaturalNews) The idea that DNA from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is broken down in the digestive tract and rendered innocuous, a common industry claim, is patently false. A recent study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE found that large, meal-derived DNA fragments from GMOs are fully capable of transferring their genes directly into the bloodstream, deconstructing the myth that transgenic foods act on the body in the same way as natural foods.

A combined analysis of four other independent studies involving more than 1,000 human samples and a team of researchers from universities in Hungary, Denmark and the U.S. looked at the assimilation process for GMOs as they are currently consumed throughout the world. This includes derivatives of GM crops such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from GM corn, for instance, and soy protein from GM soybeans, as well as meat derived from animals fed a GM-based diet.

After looking at the data on how the human body processes these and other forms of GMOs, the team discovered that DNA from GMOs is not completely broken down by the body during the digestion process. What would normally be degraded into smaller constituents like amino acids and nucleic acids was found to remain whole. Not only this, but these larger DNA fragments were found to pass directly into the circulatory system, sometimes at a level higher than actual human DNA.

"[B]ased on the analysis of over 1000 human samples from four independent studies, we report evidence that meal-derived DNA fragments which are large enough to carry complete genes can avoid degradation and through an unknown mechanism enter the human circulation system," explained the authors in their study abstract.

"In one of the blood samples the relative concentration of plant DNA is higher than the human DNA."

Genes from GMOs transfer into small intestine, alter composition of beneficial bacteria

This is an astounding discovery that proves false claims made by Monsanto and others that GMOs are no different from non-GMOs as far as the body is concerned. Monsanto even claims on its "Food Safety" page for GMOs that the DNA from GMOs is "extensively digested" and "present[s] no hazards," both of which have now been shown to be lies.

Based on this latest analysis of how food genes are transferred from the digestive tract into the bloodstream, it is now apparent that the genes of GMOs pass into the bloodstream whole. Their presence is also associated with major inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, adenoma and colorectal cancer.

The presence of transgenic genes in the small intestine was also found to affect the composition of beneficial bacteria, which are responsible for protecting the gut against foreign invaders and helping the body absorb nutrients from food. Individuals with ileostomies, or perforations in their abdominal walls as a result of surgery, were found to literally be harboring full DNA sequences from GMOs in their intestinal tracts.

None of this is really all that surprising, of course, as the biological activities behind how GMOs are processed by the human body have never been legitimately studied. Biotechnology companies have always just claimed that GMOs are the same as real food, without any evidence to back this up, and this has been enough for the government to keep them on the market for nearly 20 years.

"One small mutation in a human being can determine so much, the point is when you move a gene, one gene, one tiny gene out of an organism into a different one you completely change its context," said David Suzuki, co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. "There is no way to predict how it's going to behave and what the outcome will be."

Tuesday, June 24, 2014 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer

Visit GMOs.NaturalNews.com for more information and breaking news on this subject.


You might also like: GMOs - The Walking Dead Of The Food Industry

Thanks for reading, and sharing!

To get e-mail notifications of new posts from this blog, contact me at: genevieve-parry@live.com