When it comes to making your own beer at home, hops are an essential ingredient. Hops are added to beer to make it taste bitter. It’s what counters the sweetness that the malted barley brings to a recipe. There are many different types of hops that are available on the market. Along with the bitterness each one imparts it’s own unique subtleties to the beer.
But besides being a flavoring component, hops also act as preservatives. This is a much lesser know fact. In earlier days, hops were depended upon to help keep the beer from spoilage. Since the advancement of sanitation over the last couple of centuries, hops are not need for this purpose, but we still put it in the beer anyway because we like it!
Besides having this preservative power, hops have been found to have other valuable qualities as well. Here are some of the amazing benefits of beer hops listed below:
- According to the recent researches, the female flowers of the hop plant contain a chemical known as xanthohumol, which has anti-carcinogenic properties. Hence, there is hope that drinking beer may actually reduce the chances of cancer, and inhibit the growth of tumors.
- They also have potent phytoestrogens which are as present as synthetic estrogens. The phytoestrogen, ‘8-prenylnaringenin’, is found to be extremely effective in reducing hot flushes of menopause. It also reduces cramping pains in legs and abdomen, which are associated with menstrual disorders like dysmenorrhoea. Many women have claimed to experience considerable relief in these common female disorders after taking beer.
- There are some suggestions that hops have sort of a sedative effect, so they are good for people who are suffering with sleep disorders. Many beer drinkers feel that they sleep more peacefully after consuming a few beers, but they are unaware of the reason behind it.