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Study: Compound Found In Beer Boosts Brain Function

An anonymous reader writes Researchers have found that a chemical found in hops may actually improve memory. Unfortunately, a person would need to drink 3,520 pints of beer a day to get a high enough dose of the chemical to boost their brain power. A daunting task for even the most enthusiastic Oktoberfest participant. From the article: "Researchers at Oregon State University discovered that doses of xanthohumol, a flavonoid found in hops, improved memory and thinking in a lucky group of mice. Flavonoids are a class of compounds present in plants, known to have numerous health benefits. Last year, researchers discovered that a flavonoid found in celery and artichokes could potentially fight pancreatic cancer. The researchers treated the mice with dietary supplements of xanthohumol over the course of eight weeks. Their goal was to determine if xanthohumol could affect palmitoylation, a naturally occurring process in animals (including humans) that's associated with memory degradation. The mice then went through a series of tests—including the popular Morris water maze—to gauge whether or not the treatments had improved their spatial memory and cognitive flexibility. For the younger mice in the group, it worked. But on the older mice, unfortunately, the xanthohumol didn't seem to have any effect."

72 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. First "Flowers for Algernon" Post by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Funny

    So now we know why Charlie Gordon didn't stay smart - he was too old.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  2. X found in Y correlates to Z by retroworks · · Score: 1

    X correlates to Z. FTFY

    --
    Gently reply
  3. And here's something else you forgot by Zeio · · Score: 1

    And here's something else you forgot to factor in - we're not that drunk.

    Did you hear that everybody? They said they're not that drunk! Cheeky bastards!

    They're not that drunk! They're not that drunk! They're not that drunk!

    --
    Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
  4. Obliagtory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    http://xkcd.com/323/

    1. Re:Obliagtory by binarylarry · · Score: 1, Interesting
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      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    2. Re:Obliagtory by Hylandr · · Score: 1

      This.

      So much this.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    3. Re:Obliagtory by neoritter · · Score: 1

      Tell us how you really feel.

    4. Re:Obliagtory by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      I see you have had the 3,250 pints already, but somehow it has not boosted your brain function. So, you are not a mouse - but a man?

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
  5. Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by sexconker · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No matter how many beneficial ingredients/components that beer and other alcoholic beverages may have, the dominant, overriding player will always be the alcohol, which is just fucking terrible for you.

    1. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by Zeio · · Score: 5, Informative

      Wrong.

      http://www.cbsnews.com/news/wa...

      Vitamins didn't seem to affect longevity, but alcohol intake did, with people who drank up to two drinks per day having a 10-15 percent reduced risk of death compared to non-drinkers. "A lot of people like to say it's only red wine. In our hands it didn't seem to matter," says Dr. Kawas.

      might want to check the facts on this.

      --
      Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
    2. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by Rei · · Score: 1

      Oh, sexconker, you and your stories - "the study is wrong", "beer kills brain cells".... Now let's go back to that ... building ... thingie ... where our beds and TV ... is.

      --
      Beautiful Blueberries
    3. Re: Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by jd2112 · · Score: 5, Funny

      A glass or two of wine/day : good
      3250 beers/day : makes Amy Winehouse look sober.

      --
      Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
    4. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1, Informative

      You might find this article which claims otherwise, interesting:

      "No Amount of Alcohol Is Safe"
      http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824237

    5. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by Travis+Mansbridge · · Score: 5, Funny

      To alcohol! The cause of - and solution to - all of life's problems.

    6. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by SirMasterboy · · Score: 1

      What about non-alcoholic beer?

    7. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 3, Funny

      Shall I pour you another, my good friend?

    8. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by istartedi · · Score: 3, Funny

      Studies notebook, checks over a few calculations, and turns to colleague: You're not going to believe this. I really am a PIG FUCKER and I really SHOULD DIE. Oh no, forgot to carry the two. I'm good. Yes. I'll have another.

      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    9. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      You might find this article which claims otherwise, interesting:

      "No Amount of Alcohol Is Safe" http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824237

      I would like to check it out, but it wants me to login. Can I see the article some other way?

    10. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Ahaa, I now found a way. Put "No Amount of Alcohol Is Safe" (in quotation marks) in Google and open the cached copy of that page.

      In general the article talks about any amount of alcohol increasing cancer risk.

    11. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Most studies would probably conclude that a case a day is "just fucking terrible".

      Additionally, most studies would probably conclude that any kind of binge drinking is "just fucking terrible".

    12. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by Njorthbiatr · · Score: 1

      Abstainers do no better than heavy drinkers, it seems. Of course this should be taken with a shaker of statistical salt. Correlation is not causation and all that jazz.

      Alcohol, like any drug, is bad in toxic doses, which happens to be the doses it's often consumed. Nontoxic doses can provide therapeutic benefit against stress and anxiety. It binds to GABA receptors, making them more sensitive. This in return causes an increase in GABA activity and thus a decrease in overall brain activity. It's a mechanism well known to have an anxiolytic effect. Alcohol also seems to prevent the breakdown of dopamine (the good ole feel good transmitter).

      So there is reason to think drinking it would cause people to be healthier. It is not the only obtainable and reasonably safe substance that affects GABA, however.

    13. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by neoritter · · Score: 2

      That's it? Fuck me, breathing increases cancer risk these days.

    14. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by h5inz · · Score: 1

      You are aiming at consuming hops without alcohol? There may be other compounds that have harmful effects on a person. For example, hops is known to have diuretic properties.

    15. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1

      Yes, but it's much more difficult to cut down on than alcohol.

      Keep breathing and carry on.

    16. Re:Compound Found In Beer Impairs Brain Function by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      I think he has already had his moderate allowance of 3,250 pints, don't you? Perhaps a couple of thousand pots of coffee and a walk around the world would do him the world of good.

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
  6. A lucky group of mice? by uCallHimDrJ0NES · · Score: 2

    How did we confirm the luckification of these mice? Are the mice in my lab as lucky as the ones in this experiment?

    --
    Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
    1. Re:A lucky group of mice? by Lord+Lemur · · Score: 1

      The other mice from that batch were routed over to a lab conducting an experiment entitled "Will it Blend?"

  7. wrong by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, a person would need to drink 3,520 pints of beer a day to get a high enough dose of the chemical to boost their brain power.

    Or 2 pints of Hopalicious

    1. Re:wrong by operagost · · Score: 1

      That would have to be bitter enough to make my face implode.

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      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  8. Drink IPA by Zeio · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I drink Pliny the Elder every Thursday @ 11 am at a bar locally here that taps just ONE KEG and this keg lasts about 1 Hour. 30-50 pitchers of beer.

    Micro-bubbles in the brew.

    Pliny is nice. Its balanced, lots of hops, IPA classic, only good fresh, and its smooth

    Hops are really awesome. They are brain food. Also brewers yeast is able to even control blood pressure.

    I love beer.

    --
    Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
    1. Re:Drink IPA by Patent+Lover · · Score: 2

      Actually he died from breathing toxic volcanic ashes and gas. Just like the healthy children and young people around him.

    2. Re:Drink IPA by dj_super_dude · · Score: 1

      I'd like to hate you but I can't - I'll admit it's pure jealousy.
      - drinking at 11am on a Thursday
      - beautiful (from your description) microbrew
      - IPA

      *sigh*

      Raise one for me if you'd be kind enough sir

    3. Re:Drink IPA by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Pliny is nice. Its balanced, lots of hops, IPA classic, only good fresh, and its smooth

      9 out of 10 times I drink it at the brewery, I am left wondering where the lovely floral character has gone. Well, it went to Hopfather. Pliny is now their mass market beer.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Drink IPA by Steve+Blake · · Score: 1

      Pliny is the nectar of the Gods.

    5. Re:Drink IPA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Its balanced, lots of hops, IPA classic, only good fresh, and its smooth

      "Lots of hops" contradicts "balanced" and "smooth." I hate the way hops has become the CA wine oak of the micro-brew world. Taste should be king, and more != better.

    6. Re:Drink IPA by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Name 10 pubs with Pliny on tap. List them. here. list them now.

      Choke on me. Choke. Now. Choke on me now.

      You just claim to like beer with 200 IBU or Dogfish overkill, and people want something a bit more subtle.

      Hopfather has less IBUs than Pliny, ignoranus. You're only pretending to know anything about beer.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    7. Re:Drink IPA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Its balanced, lots of hops, IPA classic, only good fresh, and its smooth

      "Lots of hops" contradicts "balanced" and "smooth." I hate the way hops has become the CA wine oak of the micro-brew world. Taste should be king, and more != better.

      Can't agree with you more. Hops was supposed to be the ingredient. Now it's turned into a condiment where IPA monsters live and breathe waiting to take a bitter shit in your mouth.

      People will soon be sucking back hops shooters like wheatgrass shots.

      There's more to beer than trying to create an IPA that will murder anyone else's IPA with a hop shotgun.

    8. Re:Drink IPA by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Pliny is ~92, Hopfather is > 100.

      Pliny is more bitter than hopfather, it says so right on their website, and it also says so in my mouth. And the younger is even moreso, and I can't figure out why anyone would give a shit about the elder any more because it has clearly. gone. down. hill. Last time I actually made it in for the younger (which I only do by accident, because life is too short to make plans around when a keg of beer is opened) it wasn't that good, either. It was missing something important from the hop character. Since they got mobbed, Russian River has lost the ability to give a fuck. They really need to expand, but make bullshit noises about keeping it small and not being able to do the same quality of beer if they grow. But they're not keeping the same quality of beer now, so what do they have to lose?

      I also make 100%percentile coffees as well.

      Is that what happened to your taste buds?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    9. Re:Drink IPA by Rei · · Score: 1

      Really, this was modded up and mine was modded down? Have you never actually read anything about the history of the eruption? Everyone who was with him at the time was fine, he was the only one who was having trouble, because of his lousy health. Pliny the Younger blamed it on his "weak innards".

      --
      Beautiful Blueberries
  9. Obligatory XKCD reference by fwarren · · Score: 3, Funny
    --
    vi + /etc over regedit any day of the week.
    1. Re:Obligatory XKCD reference by nitehawk214 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think you want the Balmer Peak. Nobody wants to peek at Balmer.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    2. Re:Obligatory XKCD reference by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      But many people obviously want to make a Balmer poke.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    3. Re:Obligatory XKCD reference by fwarren · · Score: 1

      Watch out, Balmer will want to squirt back at you with his shit brown Zune.

      --
      vi + /etc over regedit any day of the week.
  10. Might I vary on this meme... by Mister+Liberty · · Score: 3, Funny

    Compound found in brain improves beer function.

  11. Finally by Livius · · Score: 1

    ...we'll be able to extract the brain boosting compounds and do away with beer altogether!

  12. Re:frosty pilsner by Wonko+the+Sane · · Score: 1

    I came here to post that exact response.

  13. Bring it on! by kiphat · · Score: 1

    3520 Pints... I'm certainly up for the challenge!

  14. So chug a pint by Yakasha · · Score: 1

    with every j.

  15. Challenge accepted by calmdude · · Score: 2

    One down, 3519 to go...

  16. Re:frosty pilsner by QuantumLeaper · · Score: 2

    That's only ~440 galleons or about ~1650 liters per day, you could float a boat, easier.

  17. Re:UNFORTUNATELY you say? by QuantumLeaper · · Score: 1

    It's only 28 kegs a beer per day, not that much right???

  18. Re: frosty pilsner by conrad_halling · · Score: 4, Funny

    How many boatloads in a galleon?

  19. 8-bit by rfengr · · Score: 1

    This is slashdot; must drink 8-bit pale ale: http://www.tallgrassbeer.com/b...

  20. Thank you Captain Obvious! by hyades1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It is said that we only make real use of about a tenth of our brain. And it has long been well known that alcohol kills brain cells.

    Darwinian natural selection takes care of the rest. The weak brain cells die off, and in due time are flushed from the body. As more and more beer is consumed, more and more weak brain cells die, until the subject is left with a relatively small number of powerful, high-functioning brain cells operating in a cruft-free environment.

    And thus, genius is born.

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    1. Re:Thank you Captain Obvious! by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      There are those who believe that the best use for alcohol as a coolant is external. These people are idiots.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  21. I just read that article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And it does not say that alcohol is good for you.
    It said that one attribute held in common by a lot of people who lived into their 90s is that they drank two glasses of alcohol a day.

    This does not in any way imply that alcohol is good for you. The alcohol consumption could very easily have been correlated with other habits also associated with longevity, such as frequent socializing. It is just as likely that the emotional and mental benefits of socializing is what kept them alive, with the alcohol having no impact or even a harmful impact.

    This study is not sufficient to support any sort of hypothesis about alcohol being good for you....only that there was a correlation observed between moderate consumption and longevity.

    You are a slashdot regular. You should know better.

    1. Re:I just read that article by Zeio · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Actually if you read the various articles on the data used for this study (Leisure World / Laguna Woods data) or watch the 60 minutes show they clearly articulate people who abstained from alcohol lived shorter lives.

      So if you want to live a long time moderate (1-2 units/day) may actually be needed.

      --
      Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
    2. Re:I just read that article by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      Sorry, not enough. Looks like I'll just die at the same age as someone who doesn't drink at all.

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
    3. Re:I just read that article by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      Steady on old chap. Here: your 3,251st and last beverage. After that, be on your way home.

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
  22. Buffalo Theory is True!! by naubrey · · Score: 2

    A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And, when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we all know, kills brain cells, but naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine! That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers. The buffalo theory is concrete proof that getting drunk is good for your intelligence http://www.urbandictionary.com...

    1. Re:Buffalo Theory is True!! by king+neckbeard · · Score: 1

      Except that the claim that alcohol kills brain cells is just propaganda from the temperance movement. Drinking alcohol doesn't kill brain cells, but having alcohol as your primary caloric intake will because alcoholic beverages are not nutritional enough to subside upon entirely.

      --
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  23. Re:Yeah, but... by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    I always wonder the same when I hear about resveratrol in wine or vitamins and fluorides in beer. Ethanol and its cousin compounds will likely do more damage than the good stuff does good. Have one beer per day for the unwinding relaxation from the alcohol if you want to, but that's about it, I says.

  24. Comound found in beer? by GeekWithAKnife · · Score: 1


    Then apparently it's a chemical in hops with such low dosage that thousands of beers need to be drunk for the dosage to be meaningful...

    What about the other compounds found in beer that would kill a person drinking such quantities?

    Talk about baiting headlines...

    --
    A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
  25. Something seems not right, by mrlinux11 · · Score: 1

    When I use to drink large quantities of beer, I would not remember anything the next day ? Guess I did not drink enough for the memory boost effect. :)

  26. Coincidentally.... by OneSmartFellow · · Score: 1

    ...I am just leaving the office for the Munich Oktoberfest.

    I'll do my best, but usually 5 Maß is my limit.

  27. 3520 bottles of beer on the wall by SolarStorm · · Score: 1

    3520 bottles of beer on the take on down...

  28. Challenge...accepted by EStrat · · Score: 1

    "But lest beer enthusiasts get too excited, it would require drinking 2,000 liters of beer a day (or 5,636 bottles of beer) to ingest the amount of xanthohumol used in the study."

  29. Finally some objective science!!! by CaptainDork · · Score: 2

    I couldn't read TFA because I spilled a beer on my keyboard, but I agree in principle.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  30. New strain of hops by greywire · · Score: 1

    Just need to breed hops to enhance the level of this flavonoid to high enough levels to be useful, and then brew a "smart beer" from it.

    As long as it tastes better than Bud Light, it should sell like crazy.

    --
    -- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
  31. In other words, the story title is complete BS... by gweihir · · Score: 1

    Really, this starts to be more and more like the yellow press.

    --
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  32. How much of Double IPAs would you need by bnortman · · Score: 1

    The amount of hops in Double IPAs are significantly more, which is why I love them? I wonder how much more there really is though?

  33. Re: frosty pilsner by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

    a hogshead? a jeroboam? I don't know.

    --
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