Beer drinkers can add one more reason to their “Why Beer?” list of excuses – A medical study has found that having beer may actually benefit the body by keeping the bones strong.

According to the researchers from the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, “Beer is a rich source of silicon and may help prevent osteoporosis, as dietary silicon is a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density”.

The findings were a result of the testing of 100 commercial beers for silicon content, which were then categorized according to beer style and source.

Published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, the study found the beers' silicon content ranged from 6.4 milligrams per litre to 56.5 mg per litre. The average person's silicon intake is between 20 and 50 mgs per day.

A previous research had suggested beer contained silicon, but not much was known about how silicon levels varied with the different types of beer and malting processes.

Researcher Charles Bamforth says, “We have examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter worth and beer”. “Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon”, he added.