Near beer, the marathon runner's miracle brew?
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Chances are if you’re training for a big race, hitting the bars isn’t taking up much of your time, but chugging an O’Doul’s might be a good idea if research out of the Technical University of Munich is to be believed.
Some European athletes have long chugged nonalcoholic beer as part of their training regimen, but claims of the drink’s effectiveness had not been proven. The team compared the levels of inflammation and occurrence of upper respiratory infections in near-beer drinkers versus those consuming a placebo and found significantly better results in the non-alcoholic beer group. The polyphenols found in beer are likely the reason for the runners’ ability to bounce back after a tough race, and while beer containing alcohol contains the same substances, it’s unlikely downing two to three pints of beer during and after training would have the same benefits.
You can bet there’d be more than a few volunteers to test that theory, though.
Full story at NY Times.
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