The discovery could lead to healthier beers and food supplements. The result could one day be that when you hold up a glass and say, "To your health," you would actually be toasting a triumph of the brewer's art over disease.

The preliminary studies indicate xanthohumol, found in hops, inhibits a family of enzymes that can trigger the cancer process, as well as help the body detoxify carcinogens, according to the science newswire Ivanhoe.

"It's very healthy. I think the ingredients in the beer are very good," says Dr. Werner Back, a brewing technology expert at the Technical University of Munich.

Xanthohumol contains more powerful antioxidants than vitamin E, and some studies indicate it helps reduce oxidation of bad cholesterol.

"Xanthohumol has been shown to be a very active substance against cancer," says Dr. Markus Herrmann, also of Munich. "It comes in small sticky beads, which you find within the hops."But don't toast your health too soon. The researchers warn that it would take 60 regular beers to equal the amount of xanthohumol they are able to brew in this one beer.

That's why scientists are now working on ways to give all beers higher levels of Xanthohumol, and even find ways to add it to other foods, like chocolate.