Beer in Canada was introduced by European settlers in the seventeenth century, and a number of commercial brewers thrived until Prohibition in Canada. Though short-lived, very few brewers survived, and it was only in the late twentieth century that new breweries opened up. The Canadian Beer industry now plays an important role in Canadian identity, though globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by or merged with foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers, Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.
Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in Canada, in term of both volume and dollar value. In 2009, the research concluded that beer claimed 46% of the dollar value of alcoholic beverages sold in Canada. This compares to 29% for wine. Statistics Canada figures show that liquor sales in Canada amounted to $19.4 billion worth of alcoholic beverages, up 3.3 percent from the year before. Beer sales totaled $8.8 billion, wine $5.7 billion and spirit $4.9 billion. About 2.3 billion liters of beer were sold in 2009, a 0.9 percent increase from the previous year.
Per-capita beer sales have dropped 28 percent from their peak of 115.2 liters in 1976 to 83.5 liters in 2009. By volume, imported beer has more than doubled its market share in the last decade. In 2009, the imported beer had captured 13% of the beer market in Canada, up from 6% in 1999. The Canadian per capita consumption of beer at 68 liters is however not the highest in the world and is lower than the US at 83 liters, as per latest industry estimates.
A cold glass of beer is a supposed delight that many people enjoy on a daily basis. The Harvard School of Public Health reports that moderate drinking “may” have some health benefits, as long as women do not exceed one drink per day and men do not exceed two. If beer is your alcoholic beverage of choice, you should also know about the health concerns associated with drinking it. Let us briefly see some of the health issues related to beer consumption that have medical evidence.
Beer, even light beer, has calories in it and the more servings you consume, the extra calories you intake. Taking in more calories than you are able to turn leads to weight gain, and possibly obesity. "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," reports that men who consumed high amounts of alcohol were more likely to gain unhealthy amounts of weight. Gaining an unhealthy amount of weight can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, and limiting your intake of beer may help you maintain a healthy weight.
A body needs folic acid, particularly if you are a woman of childbearing age because it helps promote healthy growth, development and DNA formation. The Harvard School of Public Health adds that folic acid helps decrease your risk of heart disease, as well as colon and breast cancer. Adults need 400 mcg of folic acid each day, but if you drink several beers a day, you may be depleting your stores. Reducing your intake of beer will help you retain more of this nutrient, but a supplement may also help.
Large amounts of beer can lead to scarring on your liver, which is called cirrhosis of the liver and this damage cannot be reversed. The alcohol in a beer is what contributes to this health problem, which can be life-threatening if not treated. Extensive damage can even cause you to need a liver transplant. Limiting your consumption of beer is an effective way to reduce your risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver.
Car accidents are fairly common, but they can be fatal if beer, or other alcohol, is involved, hence caution is advised. The Harvard School of Public Health notes that more than 16,000 people die each year as the result of alcohol-related automobile accidents. Drinking even one beer can impair your ability to drive in a focused and safe manner, which increases your risk of getting into a car accident. It is not just your own health and life you put into danger either.
A new study interestingly shows that beer drinkers are much more likely to be involved in driving fatalities than people who prefer vodka, scotch or other spirits. And in fact, states with higher wine consumption actually have fewer drunk driving deaths. "Beer has the strongest link to traffic fatalities, then spirits, while wine has a negative impact on traffic fatalities," said Bradley Rickard, assistant professor of economics and applied management at Cornell University. If you drive after drinking beer, you are putting the lives of everyone else on the road in danger as well. Hence the best thing is not to drive after drinking.
In today’s time, 1 in 25 deaths around the world is caused by alcohol consumption, and booze is now as damaging to global health as tobacco was a decade ago, according to a new study in the British medical journal, "The Lancet." The last global statistical analysis of the damage caused by alcohol, undertaken in 2000, found that 3.2% of deaths worldwide were the result of alcohol consumption and beer being a major cause. Alcohol/beer related causes of death include accidents, violence, poisoning, mouth and throat cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, suicide, stroke and many others. Hence it is imperative we take precautions and not run for cures later.
However, it needs to be mentioned that some people who promote that moderate consumption of beer is good are off-mark because there is yet no medical evidence to prove and in fact, a gulp of beer is like a puff of cigarette that is waiting to take you one step closer to an unhealthy existence. Hence it is in our interest that we do not get addicted to this damaging beverage.
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