(NaturalNews) There are plenty of reasons not to drink alcohol, we're told, but what if there were some good reasons to grab a beer from time to time?

While consuming too much alcohol over a long period of time can exacerbate cirrhosis of the liver, having a cold brew occasionally can provide health benefits, especially for preventing osteoporosis and hip fractures in older women.

In fact, a new study by the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment has found that a little beer can act as a natural hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women, lessening their risk for low bone mineral density (BMD) and bone fractures as they age.

A beer a day keeps osteoporosis and hip fractures away?

The study examined the lives of 200,000 post-menopausal women with varying degrees of alcohol consumption over two years, succeeded by a 12-month follow-up period. Bone mineral density scores were calculated using peripheral bone densitometry on the women's' heel, finger or forearm. The study used risk factors for low bone mineral density derived from questionnaire responses. The researchers then looked at clinical fracture rates in a 12-month follow-up period.

Two lifestyle factors that made osteoporosis risk go up were smoking and cortisone use. Two lifestyle factors that reduced osteoporosis risk were exercise and moderate alcohol consumption.
According to the study, "osteoporosis was associated with a fracture rate approximately 4 times that of normal BMD." The study implies that a can of beer a day could help prevent fractures fourfold for post-menopausal women.

Flavanoid-rich hops help balance women's hormones

The secret health ingredient in beer is hops. This herb is rich in flavanoids. The flavanoids in hops help balance a woman's hormones. This can come in handy when a woman's hormones fluctuate the most. When the endocrine system of a woman is functioning optimally, she is also using nutrients more effectively. Hormonal struggles could be indicative of deeper nutritional deficiencies that ultimately affect her bone mineralization.

These flavonoids in hops flowers act as a natural hormone-balancing medicine for women, helping reduce menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and mood swings. This benefit can overlap into better overall cognitive function for older women. According to another study from The New England Journal of Medicine that involved 12,000 elderly women, "Women who consistently were drinking about one-half to one drink per day had both less cognitive impairment as well as less decline in their cognitive function compared to women who didn't drink at all."

For women who abstain from alcohol, there's still good news. Hops flowers aren't exclusively found in beer. Hops can be obtained raw and can be steeped and brewed in teas. Other herbs that help balance a woman's hormones (from experience) include fenugreek seed, black cohosh root and dong quai root. Dong quai is a great raw supplement for hormone balancing (1 tsp a day for two weeks duration leading up to and during a women's menstrual cycle). Fenugreek seed is a great raw supplement after a woman gives birth and during breastfeeding, because it helps stabilize mood and increase breast milk flow. Like hops, black cohosh root is said to be great for post-menopausal women to control hot flashes.

With beer, a person gets the benefits of hops, but they may also be flooding their cells with corn syrup derived from GMOs. On top of that, alcohol is contaminated with aflatoxins (fungus) and burdens the body over time with liver-toxic effects. The good news to take away from this study is that women have many natural options available to them to balance hormones through menopause (including hops), which helps them prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures into old age.