Day 23 - So if not ice, then how about beer?

So in the last post, we learned that ice doesn't really do much for soft tissue injuries. So then what's a guy with a swollen knee to do? How about a nice pint of beer?

Say huh?

No, really. A pint of beer. Ok, I admit that it sounds stupid at first, but it turns out that it's not so far-fetched at all. Scientists in Austria at the Innsbruck Medical University (I've been to Innsbruck, it's a nice town) showed a few years ago that beer has anti-inflammatory effects. Dr. Dietmar Fuchs (I hope his last name is not pronounced how I think it's pronounced or I may have to move my blog to the adult section), who led the research, said this: "On the basis of our new findings, beer must be added to the list of beverages with potentially anti-inflammatory components."

So what is Fuchs talking about? Well, it turns out that beer inhibits interferon-gamma, a chemical in your body that plays a prominent role in inflammatory responses. Now the research only used beer extracts and not actual beer, but I'm willing to be the clinical guinea pig and put this to the test with real live beer, all in the name of science, don't you know.

But what beer should I choose? Ah, I think I've got just the right one. The aptly named, Hop Stoopid, is perfect for this experiment. No, that's not a misspelling. You can see here from this photo that is how they spell it on the label:


You may wonder what it means. But I think I know. It's very hoppy and high in alcohol and after you drink it, you feel stupid. But --and this is the important part-- you also feel less inflamed. I'll report back later to let you know how this experiment turned out. I expect significantly less swelling in my knee, or at least the perceived feeling of less swelling.

I should note that Fuchs and his buddies made a point of saying that non-alcoholic beer should also deliver the same anti-inflammatory properties. But I'm pretty sure they were just kidding around.