Beer is good for your bones, say experts

Beer has always been a good part of all stag party plans, but now it seems it is also good for your bones, according to a new study.

The study suggests that drinking beer, especially pale ale, strengthens your bones and could stop them becoming brittle and drinkers are less likely to suffer from osteoporosis.

Beer, especially pale ales, contains high levels of silicon, which is known to slow down the bone thinning that leads to fractures and boosting the formation of new bone.

"The factors in brewing that influence silicon levels in beer have not been extensively studied", said Dr Charles Bamforth, lead author at the University of California.

However, Dr Claire Bowring of the National Osteoporosis Society added: "There are also many other health concerns linked with alcohol which cannot be ignored.”

Nonetheless we say you should raise your glasses to this news on your next stag night out, while you could pay homage to the stuff by visiting the Heineken Brewery on your Amsterdam Stag Weekend. Prague is also well known for its brewery tours, with a very high rating on Tripadvisor. The clear benefit to these is you can actually try beer the whole way around while on a stag do in Prague.

We've often heard things we enjoy can be slightly healthy if consumed in small quantities, such as dark chocolate or wine, however the concept of beer being unhealthy is often met with scepticism. This isn't for a bad reason, I mean can you just drink the one? I know I can't, they're very more-ish.

There are also a number of low calorie options which you might want to consider if watching your weight, with many brands launching their own '100 calorie' versions to help reduce the damage done from a heavy night on the town.