How Microorganisms in Beer Help the Body

In this health video you will learn how microorganisms in beer help the body.

Raena Morgan: We’re talking with Dr. Larry Robinson. He’s the vice president of scientific affairs at Embria Health Sciences in Ankeny, Iowa. We’re talking about EpiCor, Dr. Robinson. It’s made from yeast, and how does yeast affect the body? Dr. Larry Robinson: Well, it all depends on what the yeast is. I mean, if you’re talking about pathogenic yeast, like Candida which most people worry about, obviously that’s very negative. But, what we’re talking about with EpiCor is simple brewer’s yeast or baker’s yeast—scientifically known as saccharomyces cerevisiae. Raena Morgan: Oh, okay. Dr. Larry Robinson: I mean, this is very beneficial yeast. People have been consuming this particular type of baker’s yeast in bread, beer and wine for millennia. So, it has a huge safety record and a lot of benefits for the body. Raena Morgan: So, this has the same yeast in it as that beer—brewing beer has? Dr. Larry Robinson: That’s correct. Raena Morgan: So, then, would drinking beer be good for your health? Like—say it’s true. Dr. Larry Robinson: Well, I like to think so. I think that’s true. Certainly, it makes you feel better temporarily. In fact, it probably does have some very good health benefits. You know, beer—especially dark beer—is known to have a very high antioxidant capacity. Raena Morgan: Really? Dr. Larry Robinson: The hopps in the beer, which make it bitter—if you like bitter beer, is also very good for you. In fact, people have been consuming fermented products, again, for millennia and it’s likely that people didn’t get allergies or get as sick as much in the early days because they were exposed to the good microorganisms, if you would. Like the baker’s yeast and fermentation products that the baker’s yeast makes. So, in effect, they were being exposed to these types of chemicals and compounds for millennia and so beer is probably good. I don’t recommend drinking beer every day to get your nutritional supplements. But certainly I don’t see anything wrong with having a beer. Raena Morgan: Okay. Will that apply to wine or any of the other products that you mentioned? Dr. Larry Robinson: Again, there are a lot of really good things in wine. For example, they found a chemical called transresveratrol, which is a very good antioxidant in red wine. But, you don’t want to be drinking wine all day because it has negative health benefits, too, obviously. So, if you can take the good benefits to the fermentation and not take the bad— Raena Morgan: The negatives. Dr. Larry Robinson: The negatives and the excessive alcohol, then you’re much better off. Raena Morgan: Okay and EpiCor can help solve that problem, too. Dr. Larry Robinson: Absolutely because EpiCor is based in a yeast—baker’s yeast or brewer’s yeast fermentation—but we’ve improved so that it even has better immune balancing properties. We’ve looked at the immune-enhancing aspects of yeast fermentations, and we’ve got it down to really a fine art now in this proprietary process where the end product—which has the backer’s or brewer’s yeast as well as these fermentation products, these good things that all these fermentations make—we’ve optimized that for the immune system and that’s what EpiCor is. Raena Morgan: And you don’t have to get intoxicated. Dr. Larry Robinson: You don’t have to get intoxicated. You can if you wish, but you certainly don’t need to and you won’t get intoxicated from EpiCor. Raena Morgan: Okay, thank you, Dr. Robinson. Dr. Larry Robinson: You’re welcome.