Dept. of Scary Science - Beer Drinker Warning

[Surgeon General Warning: Politically incorrect humor follows which may cause increased beer drinking, see close of report]

Scientists have confirmed that men should be concerned about their beer consumption. Last month the National University of Lesotho scientists released the results of a recent study that examined the presence of female hormones in beer. Their theory suggests that because beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens) that by drinking too much beer men will become women.

To test their theory, they had 100 men each drink 8 pints of beer within 1 hour.

They observed the following for 100% of their test subjects:

They argued over nothing.
They refused to apologize when obviously wrong.
They put on weight.
They talked excessively without making sense.
They became overly emotional.
They couldn't drive.
They failed to think rationally.
They had to sit down while using the bathroom.

They stated that since this proof is conclusive that no further testing is necessary.

Therefore please consider your beer intake.

Author unknown - shared with me by insensitive males that clearly need to get in touch with their feminine side. Interestingly another study suggests that excessive use of inappropriate sexist humor may cause men to drink more beer....

Using Google a search with the criteria "Hops and Phytoestrogen" yields this ARTICLE:

The female flowers of the hop plant are used as a preservative and as a flavoring agent in beer. However, a recurring suggestion has been that hops have a powerful estrogenic activity and that beer may also be estrogenic. In this study, sensitive and specific in vitro bioassays for estrogens were used for an activity-guided fractionation of hops via selective solvent extraction and appropriate HPLC separation. We have identified a potent phytoestrogen in hops, 8-prenylnaringenin, which has an activity greater than other established plant estrogens. The estrogenic activity of this compound was reflected in its relative binding affinity to estrogen receptors from rat uteri. The presence of 8-prenylnaringenin in hops may provide an explanation for the accounts of menstrual disturbances in female hop workers. This phytoestrogen can also be detected in beer, but the levels are low and should not pose any cause for concern.