Does Non-Alcoholic Beer Affect Your Liver?

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Can you think of a product that increased in popularity by about 163% between 2019 and 2023? If you said non-alcoholic beer, you’re right!

Some consumers, especially younger adults, have been choosing non-alcoholic beers because they want a healthy overall lifestyle. But is non-alcoholic beer really good for you? Does this beverage come with any risk factors? And, for that matter, what exactly is non-alcoholic beer?

Understanding Non-Alcoholic Beer

As its name suggests, non-alcoholic beer is beer with little or no alcohol content. To be more specific, its ABV is less than 0.5 percent. (“ABV” refers to the volume of pure alcohol within an alcoholic drink.)

Be aware that, if you want a beer with no alcohol whatsoever, you have to look for one that’s labeled “alcohol-free.”

Beermakers have long made non-alcoholic beer by skipping the fermentation process. During fermentation, yeast — and, on occasion, other types of microbes — break down the sugars within grains.

When microorganisms break down such a sugar, they convert it into ethyl alcohol. Therefore, when fermentation doesn’t take place, a beer will lack alcohol.

Another common method for producing non-alcoholic beer is taking fermented beer — beer with alcohol — and cooking it. That way, the alcohol will burn off.

For a long time, non-alcoholic beer makers faced a conundrum. When beer lacked alcohol, it usually lacked an appealing taste. To deal with this issue, manufacturers often added sugary ingredients to their drinks — in many cases high-fructose corn syrup.

Unfortunately, these sugary items often make non-alcoholic beers taste unnatural, overly sweet, or both. Thus, for so many years, these drinks simply weren’t popular.

Now times are changing for non-alcoholic beers. New manufacturing techniques are yielding much tastier beverages. Indeed, these days, many non-alcoholic beers taste a lot like regular beer.

Current methods of making non-alcoholic beer often involve advanced technologies. And some of them are trade secrets, carefully guarded by brewers.

However, even with higher sales in recent years, the market share for non-alcoholic beer remains comparatively tiny. It amounts to about 1% of the overall beer market. Still, as word of mouth spreads, the future looks bright for this once-dreaded item.

In fact, according to a recent study conducted by one brewery, approximately 75% of millennial and Gen Z beer consumers would like to know more about the non-alcoholic option.

For many people, though, the crucial question remains: Is drinking non-alcoholic beer completely safe?

The Health Benefits of Non-Alcoholic Beer

To begin with, here’s something that might surprise you: Non-alcoholic beers can actually be healthy in certain ways.

For one thing, if you switched from regular beer to non-alcoholic beer going forward, your blood pressure would probably go down. Most likely, your blood sugar level would do the same.

Furthermore, by drinking non-alcoholic beer instead of the traditional kind, you could reduce your fatty liver buildup. Over time, that buildup could seriously damage the liver.

Eliminating significant alcohol intake would probably improve your sleep and your vitamin absorption capabilities. It would boost your energy levels, too.

On top of all that, abstaining from alcohol reduces your risks of various health problems: strokes, depression, cardiovascular disease, and several cancers among them.

Not to mention, when you avoid alcohol, you aren’t as likely to injure yourself in an accident. And you won’t have to deal with impaired judgment, which leads many people to drive drunk and do other dangerous things.

Non-alcoholic beer also has fewer calories than regular beer, which means it can be a tool in the fight against obesity. And, with this option, there’s no chance of getting a hangover!

Moreover, non-alcoholic beer contains hops. Hops come from the Humulus lupulus plant, and they can have a calming effect on the body. As such, they might improve your sleep even more.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: Are There Risks Involved?

Even with the benefits mentioned above, you shouldn’t consider non-alcoholic beer to be a healthy drink per se. For sure, it’s no substitute for a nutritious and balanced diet. And there are some risks to consider before you crack open a non-alcoholic cold one.

First of all, there are some people who should avoid even minimal amounts of alcohol. They include those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Alcohol in small quantities can still interfere with fetal and infant development.

Likewise, people who are taking certain types of prescription drugs should stay away from non-alcoholic beer. At the very least, they should consult their doctors before indulging in it.

Also, people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in regular beer — hops, gluten, and so on — should avoid non-alcoholic beer as well.

In particular, those who suffer from an alcohol use disorder shouldn’t drink non-alcoholic beer. That’s because it closely resembles regular beer in its appearance, aroma, taste, and texture. Naturally, those similarities can be triggering: They can make people strongly crave beer with alcohol. And then relapses can easily occur.

Potential Effects of Non-Alcoholic Beer on the Liver

About the size of a football, the liver is one of the human body’s five vital organs. (The others are the brain, heart, lungs, and kidneys.) Simply stated, without the liver, a person couldn’t survive for long.

For one thing, the liver plays a key role in metabolism. It takes in nutrients and chemically transforms them into usable materials. For example, it turns the sugar glucose into glycogen, a substance that supplies human beings with energy.

In addition, this organ stores nutrients. Then, when certain cells need certain substances, the liver delivers them via the bloodstream.

Especially important, the liver filters the blood that passes through it. That is, it removes all the toxins in the blood, and then it processes them. Afterwards, those harmful substances, which include alcohol, are excreted.

Because this organ is so crucial to human health, liver diseases can be debilitating and even fatal. Such disorders include hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver, and cirrhosis, a tissue scarring that can cause liver failure.

With all of that in mind, you might now be wondering: Can non-alcoholic beer hurt my liver?

If you’re an adult with a healthy liver, non-alcoholic beer almost certainly won’t harm that organ. Its concentration of alcohol is just too small. Indeed, medical research to date has found no link between liver problems and moderate consumption of non-alcoholic beer.

On the other hand, this beverage might harm your liver if any of these statements are true:

• You’ve suffered liver problems in the past.
• You’re at a high risk for liver disease due to genetics or other factors.
• You have a history of high alcohol consumption.

Although these beers contain miniscule quantities of alcohol, the body still has to filter out that substance. Of course, when a person’s liver is healthy, that task is simple. But, when a person’s liver has been damaged, it might have trouble removing even tiny amounts of alcohol. And, if alcohol isn’t filtered out properly, it can lead to even worse liver damage over time.

A Few Final Thoughts

Non-alcoholic beer can be a smart choice for a night out. This beverage could give you the flavor and texture of beer without the hazards and toxicities of alcohol.

Keep in mind, however, that even a minute amount of alcohol can be risky for some people. It might trigger a substance use relapse, an allergy attack, or another serious health problem.

Whether it’s non-alcoholic beer or any other food or drink, it’s wise to make an informed decision about consuming it. Learn all you can about the item, and find out how it could serve your health needs.

Above all, if you’re ever struggling with alcohol cravings, contact a treatment center as soon as you can. Caring healthcare providers, like the experts you’d meet at Live Free Recovery Services, can help you defeat addiction and enjoy the happy life that you deserve.