To Your Health: Hop to It to Cut Cholesterol

A Spanish study using nuns as subjects appears to indicate that hops can help reduce total cholesterol and triglycerides.

Fifty nuns were involved in the study, according to the Spanish Center for the Information on Beer and Health. First the nuns drank a pint of beer for 45 days, then stopped for six months. They then took 400 milligrams of hops for 40 days.

Total cholesterol levels among those with high ratings dropped by 6 percent. The researchers say the study indicates that even small amounts of beer, which is made with hops, can have beneficial health results.