Hops Healthy

Hops Healthy

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. More is being learned about the health benefits of a compound found in hops that could be keys in the prevention or treatment of one of the primary killers in the U.S.

Researchers at Oregon State University have identified for the first time just how Xanthohumol works and why it may have great promise in addressing high cholesterol, blood sugar, and obesity ...

MAIER ... "So originally Xanthohumol was considered, still is considered a very important anti-oxidant. But our research basically shows that it goes beyond just being an anti-oxidant."

OSU Chemistry professor Claudia Maier says most exciting is it's effectiveness in treating metabolic syndrome ...

MAIER ... "Metabolic Syndrome is actually a class of health conditions and some abnormal cholesterol levels, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and probably most important being overweight or obese. In lay terms, anything that has very high impact, actually for Americans is being overweight and that is associated with insulin resistance and if it's not dealt with it can easily relate to diabetes and high blood pressure."

But sorry beer lovers, Maier says deriving the benefits from your favorite brew ... is a stretch ...

MAIER ... "Yeah, this is totally unrealistic. It's just not possible. You'd need to drink, I don't know, gallons of beer. The level in beer is just way, way, way too low basically. There's no beneficial levels of Xanthohumol in beer."

In animal testing at OSU, high dosages of the compound reduced LDL, or bad cholesterol, levels 80%, insulin levels by 42% and inflammation 78%.

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