Beer drinkers now have a good excuse to order another round - the brew may help keep bones strong, a study has found.

Researchers from the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, have found beer is a rich source of silicon and may help prevent osteoporosis, as dietary silicon is a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density.

Drinking beer could be good for bone density, study finds.

These were the findings after researchers tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and categorised the data according to beer style and source.

Previous research has suggested beer contained silicon but little was known about how silicon levels varied with the different types of beer and malting processes.