Researchers in the Czech Republic are developing a menopause beer. Aptly dubbed Lady Beer, it contains high levels of plant-based estrogens, which can help to relieve some of the effects brought on by perimenopause.
The Czech are voracious beer drinkers. They consume an average of 161 liters per person each year, making them number one in the world. By comparison, Germans average 121 liters and Americans about 84 liters each.
However, the consumption of beer by women in that country has declined in recent years. Czech women generally lack estrogens in their diet. So, with financial backing from their Ministry of Agriculture, the Czech Research Institute for Brewing and Malting came up with this ingenious product to address the declining female market - a designer beer created with a specific function to appeal to that group.
Lady Beer also appeals to women because it is low in calories and contains just 2% alcohol. Sometimes called "liquid bread" by the Czechs, beer is already a somewhat nutritious liquid containing vitamins, micro-elements and antioxidants. The addition of estrogen makes it almost completely guilt-free.
Hops, one of the major ingredients in beer, is a good source of plant estrogens or phytoestrogens. The Czech scientists boosted the level of estrogens in Lady Beer to ten times the natural level because low and fluctuating estrogen levels are the cause of many of the common symptoms of menopause, such hot flashes, night sweats and the loss of bone density.
Product testing is still taking place and Lady Beer has not yet debuted in the marketplace. However, with the winning combination of low calories, decent nutritional value, low alcohol content and medicinal qualities, this product is primed to be a marketing coup.
