This is an old advertising slogan created by Guinness to market their product. Where I whole heartedly believe it’s definitely good for the sole I wanted to find out just how true this statement actually was as far as my general health was concerned.

I heard that it was given to pregnant women historically, which is something we would never do these days.

So below is a summary of my findings.

On the 13th November 2003, the BBC reported that it was official, that Guinness was good for you, stating that a single Guinness a day for you was as good as Aspirin for prevention against blood clots. Although they were also quick to say that drinking in excess was definitely not a good thing.

Experts in Wisconsin declared that drinking lager did not hold the same effects as Guinness.

Calories; at around 200 calories a pint I was wondering how this compared to lagers, so I compared it to one of my favorite lagers that came in at 153. I actually expected it to be much higher than this.

I had heard it had antioxidants in it. Curious as to which antioxidants, and what their primary benefits could be, a few more searches returned that the antioxidants in Guinness are particularly beneficial because they “slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls”… nice! Though I failed to find out exactly which antioxidants it included or if any other benefits might be possible.

They have long been saying there maybe health benefits to drinking a beer a day, so maybe I will make mine a Guinness.
So what about vitamins and minerals? A few searches revealed that it contains a range of B vitamins, Iron, Calcium and some other minerals. Great. I also failed to find the exact quantities but did find a piece on the internet that suggested this information was not public.

So, there it is. I did not find an awful lot of detail. Maybe a little mystery is sometimes a good thing.

A note to the traveler: The best Guinness I ever had was at the Guinness brewer in Ireland, so if you’re ever in Dublin you must call in at the brewery and have a glass.