Yuriko Nakao / REUTERS A man walks past a poster of Sapporo Holdings' beer at the company's lobby in Tokyo February 16, 2011.

Drinking beer is good for you and your children, a study by Japan’s oldest brewery says.

Hops, one of the three basic ingredients of beer along with water and barley, contains a chemical compound called humulone, which can help the human body fight the virus that causes the common cold in adults, according to a report by the news agency Agence-France Presse. The same virus also can cause bronchitis and pneumonia in children. With vaccination for these illnesses has yet to be found, the study by Japanese beverage giant Sapporo says that beer could prove a unique way of curbing infection.

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Unfortunately, a single can of beer doesn’t contain enough humulone to make a difference, Jun Fuchimoto, a researcher for Sapporo, told AFP. You’d need to drink 30 12-oz. cans of beer in order for there to be any effect — about 4,500 calories‘ worth and enough alcohol to make a cold the least of your worries. Sapporo is looking into adding humulone to food and non-alcoholic drinks as well, Fuchimoto said. But don’t forsake the other health benefits beer can have in more reasonable amounts: It’s been shown to increase bone density and reduce risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Protein in hops will even make your hair and skin shinier.

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