Non-alcoholic wheat beer may be immune-boosting beverage for athletes

A team of researchers at the Technical University Munich's Department of Preventative and Rehabilitative Sports Medicine recently found that regularly drinking non-alcoholic wheat beer helped marathon runners to avoid post-workout immune deficiency, compared to those who drank a placebo beverage.

The scientists said it is likely that the polyphenols contained in the beer were responsible for the immune-boosting bodily response.

"The potential for foods containing polyphenols to have a positive effect on athletes' health has already been suggested in several articles. Nevertheless we were ourselves sometimes surprised at how clearly evident this was in the results," said lead researcher Johannes Scherr.

Study authors reported that drinking non-alcoholic wheat beer regularly before an intense physical endurance test was effective at reducing the athletes' chances of getting a cold by one-third. They added that the compounds contained in the beverage may have prevented the runners' bodies from over-performing.

Results of this study suggest that those who wish to get ripped by spending long hours at the gym may reduce their chances of a weakened immune system by drinking non-alcoholic wheat beer.