What Has More Calories Beer Or Soda?

Which alcoholic beverages have the most (or least) calories? A typical 6 oz. glass of wine or 12 oz. beer has as many calories as a can of Coke (140). Some beers have twice that much. But you’d never know the calories in alcoholic drinks from many of their labels and non-chain-restaurant menus. (Chain restaurants must disclose calories for drinks on their menus, and some beer brewers and other alcohol companies label calories voluntarily.) Already a subscriber? More on food & health : Which alcoholic beverages have the most (or least) calories?

Is beer or soda worse for weight?

13 September 2019 | 5:00 pm It is next to impossible to avoid a good beverage especially during social interactions hence why it is necessary to make healthy choices in deciding which beverage to take. There is a long-standing debate on the merits of various beverages, including soft drinks and alcohol. Which one is the healthier choice? Continuing reading on the details It is next to impossible to avoid a good beverage especially during social interactions hence why it is necessary to make healthy choices in deciding which beverage to take. There is a long-standing debate on the merits of various beverages, including soft drinks and alcohol.

1. Which one is the healthier choice? Continuing reading on the details about the healthier choice between alcohol and soft drinks.
2. Nutrition: If you are to compare alcohol and soft drinks from a nutrition point of view then alcohol is easily your winner as soft drinks have absolutely no nutritional value with processed sugar being one of the major components.

Sugar will bring down your insulin resistance due to the rise of toxin influx in the body and this makes you a prey to diseases like diabetes. On the other hand, beer contains a small amount of protein due to the ingredients added when it is brewed for consumption and also contains some amount of antioxidants and potassium.

1. Ilo calories: Both alcohol and soft drinks contain plenty of kilo calories but on the parameter of kilo calories, soft drinks are a healthier choice over alcohol.
2. People tend to drink soft drinks at a slower pace, which means that they consume less of it.
3. Once you start enjoying an alcoholic drink, you tend to take more of them and much faster.

Also, alcohol makes you hungry, which implies that you start reaching out for various kinds of snacks and other unhealthy food. In such cases, you will tend to gain weight much faster if you choose alcohol every time. This will not really be the case when you choose soft drinks.

Toxins: Alcohol is brewed in such a way that ensures it carries a lot of toxins, which are not good for the liver and heart in the long run. These toxins can easily clog the arteries and create complications for the functioning of the liver. Glycemic index: This is the count that is accorded to the level of insulin resistance in one’s drink of choice.

For alcohol, the glycemic resistance is much higher, which means that you have better insulin resistance as compared to other soft drinks, which are high in sugar content. Therefore, it makes alcohol a highly unhealthy choice, which can also result in diabetes in the long run, if one ingests too much of it.

What is healthier beer or Coke?

I. Beer vs Cola – In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has analyzed the contents of both. It provides the following information.2

Beverage	Calories	Fat (g.)	Carb (g.)	Sugars (g.)
12 oz regular beer	153	0.00	12.64	0.00
12 oz regular cola	155	0.92	38.33	36.78

In addition, the USDA shows that cola contains most, but not all, of the minerals found in beer. But it contains no vitamins at all. On the other hand, beer provides thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, follate, and vitamin B-12 Beer also has a strong advantage over cola nutritionally.

Does soda have more calories than alcohol?

Pictures of Drinks With The Same or More Calories Than Soda Reviewed by Christine Mikstas, RD, LD on November 18, 2021 A 12-ounce can of soda has between about 125 and 180 calories. All of those come from sugar – between 8 and 11 teaspoons in your glass. Those numbers give this drink a reputation as a nutritional bad guy. Still, there are lots of other beverages that have as many or more calories as a soda. It’s true that apple, orange, and other juices have vitamins, which are keys to a healthy diet. But just 8 ounces have between about 100 and 150 calories. And you get more if you pour the same amount as a regular soda (12 ounces). Even if you’re drinking 100% juice, most of those calories come from sugar. This Southern classic can be a better choice than soda, but you have to read the labels. Bottled brands can have up to 150 calories in a 12-ounce serving, all from sugar. Fast-food places also have a wide range of calories in their sweet tea. And if you sip it at a sit-down restaurant, you may have no idea how many you’re drinking. You can get a bit of vitamin C from this summertime sipper if it’s made with real juice. But you’re mainly getting sugar – about 7 teaspoons in a typical glass. Bottled brands have about 150 to 180 calories in 12 ounces – just as much as soda. Look for low-calorie brands, or make your own with lemons, water, and sugar or artificial sweetener. An 8-ounce serving of plain, skim milk has 80 to 90 calories. But a tablespoon or two of chocolate syrup brings it to the same range as soda. Prepackaged chocolate milk can give you from about 140 to more than 250 calories, depending on whether it’s low-fat or whole milk. A cup of black coffee has almost no calories. But many of the sweet, creamy treats from your favorite barista have a lot more than soda. A typical unsweetened 12-ounce latte with low-fat milk has 150 calories. Add flavored syrups, whole milk, and whipped cream, and your drink can top 400 calories, all from extra fat and sugar. Smoothie servings are usually large – 16 to 20 ounces at a restaurant, or 15 ounces in a bottle. They often have 200 to 400 calories but can go well above that. In general, calories go up the more you add full-fat dairy and sweet extras, like honey or agave. An 8-ounce serving of an energy drink gives you as much as 150 calories – the same as a 12-ounce soda. And some bottles and cans have much more than one serving. Most of those calories come from sugar – up to 8 teaspoons’ worth. You also get a huge dose of caffeine. Some brands have the same amount as 4 or 5 cups of coffee in a bottle or can. Do you sometimes reach for a protein shake after a workout or instead of a meal? It’s best to read the label first to know what you’re drinking. A bottle may give you between 110 and 200 calories from protein, fat, and sugar. Milk-based protein shakes also have calcium. Some brands offer fat-free or sugar-free choices, which make them lower in calories. A 12-ounce can or bottle of regular beer has about 150 calories. Light beers run closer to 100. Be aware that the higher the alcohol content, the higher that number goes. Many craft and specialty brews can have well over 200 calories in a 12-ounce pour.

• Drinking at a bar or restaurant? Keep in mind that a serving is more likely to be 16 ounces.
• You get about 120 calories in a 5-ounce glass of white wine, and 125 in a glass of red.
• But if you go beyond the basics, you’ll add calories.
• Dessert wines are in the same calorie range as soda.
• So is sangria.
• Depending on how much fruit juice and sugar it’s made with, a serving of it can have 140 to more than 200 calories.

You can guess that if regular soda has a lot of calories, adding alcohol gives it even more. A 12-ounce bottle of hard soda has 175 to 260 calories; half from alcohol, half from sugar. Other flavored beer-based drinks have more than 300 calories in 12 ounces.

Hard ciders range from about 170 to 230. Look for the light versions that some brands offer. There are about 97 calories in 1 1/2 ounces of 80-proof alcohol. Liqueurs have about 165 calories. And mixers can add way more. Margarita mix alone has 60 to 140 per serving. When you stir in tequila, the drink clocks in at 150 to 235 calories.

A piña colada can have around 500. Even a dry martini is close to 140 calories. For extra flavor without extra calories, make your cocktail with diet soda or club soda with a squeeze of lime. Some classic seasonal drinks have far more calories than soda.

Eggnog can have more than 200 in just a half-cup. Even light versions have 120 or more. And that’s before you add alcohol. Most of that total comes from sugar, though milk and egg ingredients also give you protein and fat. A 12-ounce serving of hot chocolate can run from about 170 to over 300 calories. And spiced cider has around 110 calories in 8 ounces.

: Pictures of Drinks With The Same or More Calories Than Soda

Does beer have more calories than food?

3. Alcohol itself is very calorie dense – For every gram of alcohol you consume, you’re taking in almost double the amount of calories than if you were to consume the same quantity of protein or carbohydrates. With seven calories per gram, alcohol is an extremely concentrated source of calories.

Is beer the worst for belly fat?

Does Beer Really Cause You to Gain Belly Fat? – The fat stored around your belly is thought to be the most dangerous type of fat for your health. Scientists call this type of fat visceral fat ( 10 ). Visceral fat is metabolically active, which means it can interfere with your body’s hormones.

1. This can alter the way your body functions and increase your risk of diseases like metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer ( 11, 12 ).
2. Even people who are at a normal weight have an increased risk of health problems if they have a large amount of belly fat ( 13 ).
3. Some studies have linked high alcohol intake from drinks like beer to an increased risk of belly fat gain ( 14 ).

In fact, one study found that men who drank more than three drinks per day were 80% more likely to have a lot of belly fat than men who didn’t drink as much ( 15 ). Interestingly, other studies have suggested that drinking beer in moderate amounts of less than 17 oz (500 ml) per day may not carry this risk ( 7, 8, 16 ).

However, other factors may contribute to this difference. For example, people who drink moderate amounts of beer may also have healthier lifestyles than those who consume larger amounts ( 7 ). Most studies show that beer consumption is linked with both an increase in waist circumference and body weight.

This indicates that beer drinking doesn’t specifically put weight on your belly. It just makes you fatter overall ( 17 ). This risk of weight gain may be even higher in people who are already overweight compared to normal-weight people who drink beer ( 18 ).

Why beer is healthier than soda?

Is Beer or Soda Better For You? – Bayway CrossFit This was not the planned blog post for this week, but after talking with someone from the gym about their soda addiction, I decided I needed to write this because there could be more of you out there. I believe that people should not drink sodas at all, and drink alcohol in moderation. Seems silly being in the health and fitness industry but below are few comparisons that may get you to see it the same way. First, let’s start with the health benefits of these products: Sodas have ZERO health benefits.

They contain zero vitamins or minerals. Beer has some of these, but not enough to provide a substantial amount of micronutrients to stop taking your vitamins. In 2010 the American Heart Association released guidelines stating that there are benefits to having one twelve ounce beer each night. I have yet to find one that says this for sodas.

In the average lagger, there are fewer calories than in a twelve-ounce soda and most light beers have about fifty fewer calories per twelve ounce can. Beer has zero grams of sugar while sodas could have forty or more in each can. If we are counting calories and sugar, I would say someone who drinks two beers a day is much less likely to get a beer belly at the same rate as someone who drinks two sodas a day.

The second comparison of beer and sodas is a quick one: If you need to clean the corrosion off your car battery you don’t pour beer on it first, you pour a coke on it.The third comparison is addictive properties:

Both beer and sugary sodas have been shown to cause a release of endorphins in the brain. The more you drink of either, the more that is released. The more you drink, the more you build up a tolerance to it and the more you will need to drink in order to get the release of endorphins again. The fourth comparison is linked to diseases: Someone who is an avid soda drinker would think that beer is the ‘more evil’ one of the two in this comparison, but it’s not. When I googled ‘diseases linked to alcohol’ and ‘diseases linked to sugar’ many of the same diseases appeared on both sides including liver health, heart health and kidney function.

But the major player from sugar deaths did not appear on the alcohol list at all, and that is Diabetes. The primary fight against big soda is because, according to the American Diabetes Association, 40% of all death certificates have diabetes listed on them. This is a significant player in millions of deaths each year, and sugar has been directly linked to them.

One soda a day can increase your chances of diabetes by 22% according to a European study done with 350,000 people from eight different countries. The final comparison is warning labels: Beer and alcohol products are required to have a warning label on them letting everyone who drinks it know that they are drinking a product that can cause health issues and impair your senses.

1. Sodas are not required by federal law to have this same warning label on them, but in some cities and states they have or are trying to pass laws where this will be the case.
2. Just based of some basic research into the health benefits of sugar one could conclude that a drink that contains over three tablespoons of sugar each should include a warning label on it in every state and every country.

Beer and alcohol companies do not advertise to children because of the legal drinking age and their warning label. Sodas do not have a warning label (yet) but have made a promise not to advertise to children. Seems a little strange? In comparison, both are bad for you.

1. People have this thought that because you can buy sodas at any age, they are safer for you.
2. Both of these products will kill you at some point.
3. Both will leave you worse after you start them.
4. Both are dangerous; end of story.
5. If you can avoid both for the rest of your life, you will live a longer healthier life.

HOWEVER WHAT YOU DECIDE TO DO IS UP TO YOU. YOU MAKE THESE DECISIONS FOR YOURSELF. BUT, IF I WERE TO ASK YOU, I WOULD EVEN SAY PLEAD WITH YOUPLEASE DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILDREN SODAS. DO A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH ON A FEW STUDIES OF WHAT SODAS ARE DOING TO KIDS. Richard AndrewsCF-L2 : Is Beer or Soda Better For You? – Bayway CrossFit

Can soda really be 0 calories?

– Diet soda is essentially a mixture of carbonated water, artificial or natural sweetener, colors, flavors, and other food additives, It usually has very few to no calories and no significant nutrition. For example, one 12-ounce (354-mL) can of Diet Coke contains no calories, sugar, fat, or protein and 40 mg of sodium ( 1 ).

Carbonated water. While sparkling water can occur in nature, most sodas are made by dissolving carbon dioxide into water under pressure ( 4 ). Sweeteners. These include common artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, or an herbal sweetener like stevia, which are 200–13,000 times sweeter than regular sugar ( 4, 5 ). Acids. Certain acids, such as citric, malic, and phosphoric acid, are used to add tartness to soda drinks. They’re also linked to tooth enamel erosion ( 4 ). Colors. The most commonly used colors are carotenoids, anthocyanins, and caramels ( 4 ). Flavors. Many different kinds of natural juices or artificial flavors are used in diet soda, including fruits, berries, herbs, and cola ( 4 ). Preservatives. These help diet sodas last longer on the supermarket shelf. A commonly used preservative is potassium benzoate ( 4 ). Vitamins and minerals. Some diet soft drink manufacturers add vitamins and minerals to market their products as healthier no-calorie alternatives ( 4 ). Caffeine. Just like regular soda, many diet sodas contain caffeine, A can of Diet Coke contains 46 mg of caffeine, while Diet Pepsi contains 35 mg ( 1, 6 ).

Summary Diet soda is a mixture of carbonated water, artificial or natural sweeteners, colors, flavors, and extra components like vitamins or caffeine. Most varieties contain zero or very few calories and no significant nutrition.

How can I drink beer without getting fat?

The Truth About Beer and Your Belly What really causes that potbelly, and how can you get rid of it? Have years of too many beers morphed your six-pack abs into a keg? If you have a “beer belly,” you are not alone. It seems beer drinkers across the globe have a tendency to grow bellies, especially as they get older, and especially if they are men.

• But is it really beer that causes a “beer belly”? Not all beer drinkers have them – some teetotalers sport large ones.
• So what really causes men, and some women, to develop the infamous paunch? It’s not necessarily beer but too many calories that can turn your trim waistline into a belly that protrudes over your pants.

Any kind of calories – whether from alcohol, sugary beverages, or oversized portions of food – can increase belly fat. However, alcohol does seem to have a particular association with fat in the midsection. “In general, alcohol intake is associated with bigger waists, because when you drink alcohol, the burns alcohol instead of fat,” says Michael Jensen, MD, an endocrine expert and obesity researcher with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Beer also gets the blame because alcohol calories are so easy to overdo. A typical beer has 150 calories – and if you down several in one sitting, you can end up with serious calorie overload. And don’t forget calories from the foods you wash down with those beers. Alcohol can increase your appetite. Further, when you’re drinking beer at a bar or party, the food on hand is often fattening fare like pizza, wings, and other fried foods.

When you take in more calories than you burn, the excess calories are stored as fat. Where your body stores that fat is determined in part by your age, sex, and hormones. Boys and girls start out with similar fat storage patterns, but puberty changes that.

Women have more subcutaneous fat (the kind under the ) than men, so those extra fat calories tend to be deposited in their arms, thighs, and buttocks, as well as their bellies. Because men have less subcutaneous fat, they store more in their bellies. Beer bellies tend to be more prominent in older people because as you get older, your calorie needs go down, you often become less active, and gaining weight gets easier.

As hormone levels decline in men and women as they age, they’re more likely to store fat around the middle. Menopausal women who take tend to have less of a shift toward more belly fat than those who do not. Studies suggest that smokers may also deposit more fat in their bellies, Jensen says.

Belly fat in the midsection does more than reduce your chances of winning the swimsuit competition. It’s linked to a variety of health problems, from to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Carrying extra pounds in your thighs or hips is less risky than carrying them in the abdominal region.

Further, subcutaneous fat that you can grab around your waist and on your thighs, hips, and buttocks is not as dangerous as the visceral fat that’s found deep within the abdominal cavity surrounding your organs. Visceral fat within the abdominal wall is frequently measured by waist circumference.

“When waist circumference exceeds 35 inches for women and 40 for men, it is associated with an increased risk of, metabolic syndrome, and overall mortality,” Jensen says. He cautions that these numbers are simply guidelines, and recommends keeping your waist size below these numbers. There is no magical way to tackle belly fat other than the tried-and-true method of cutting calories and getting more physical activity.

Monounsaturated fats and so-called “belly fat” diets won’t trim your belly faster than any healthy, low-calorie diet, Jensen says. Because of the link between alcohol calories and belly fat, drinking less alcohol is a good place to start. Avoid binge drinking, which puts you at risk for damage and other serious health problems.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’ s 2010 D ietary Guidelines recommend limiting alcohol to one serving per day for women and two for men. Beer lovers should opt for light beers with 100 calorie or less, and limit the number they drink per day. Another option is to drink alcohol only on weekends, and to alternate drinks with low-calorie, non-alcohol beverages.

Don’t forget to have a healthy meal before or with your drinks to help you resist the temptation of high-calorie bar food. Doing sit-ups, crunches, or other will strengthen your core muscles and help you hold in your belly fat, but won’t eliminate it.

The only way to lose belly fat (or any kind of fat) is to lose weight. Aerobic exercises like running,, cycling, and tennis are some of the best to help reduce body fat. But “any kind of will help you keep the weight off more effectively than diet alone,” Jensen says. The good news is that when you start losing weight, you tend to lose it in the midsection first.

“Visceral fat is more metabolically active and can be broken down quicker than other fat,” Jensen says, “so it is usually the first to go, especially when you have a lot to lose.” Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, is director of for WebMD. Her opinions and conclusions are her own.

Why do men get a beer belly?

Beer belly – Harvard Health Q. I am a healthy, active 39-year-old guy. I enjoy a beer with dinner most nights, and a six-pack most weekends. Over the past year or two, I’ve had to let my belt out, and now I’m letting out my pants. So here’s my question: is beer really responsible for my “beer belly”? A.

1. Whether it’s called a beer belly, a spare tire, the apple shape, or the middle-age spread, abdominal obesity is the shape of risk.
2. Abdominal obesity is a health hazard, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, and other woes.
3. Risk begins to mount at a waist size above 37 inches for men, and a measurement above 40 inches would put you in the danger zone.

For women, the corresponding waist sizes are 31 and 35 inches, respectively. Despite the name, beer is not specifically responsible for the beer belly. Research from the beer-loving Czech Republic tells the tale. In a study of nearly 2,000 adults, beer consumption was not related to girth.

If it’s not beer, what is to blame? The culprit is calories; if you take in more calories with food and drink than you burn up with exercise, you’ll store the excess energy in fat cells. And unfortunately for men, their abdominal fat cells seem to enlarge more readily than the abdominal fat cells in women.

But although beer is not a special problem, it can add to abdominal obesity by contributing calories. In round numbers, a standard 12-ounce beer contains about 150 calories; a light beer, about 110 calories. For comparison, a 5-ounce glass of wine or a 1-ounce shot of hard liquor provides about 100 calories.

Since all these beverages contain approximately the same amount of alcohol, you can see that regular beer does have extra calories — unless you count the mixers and olives. — Harvey B. Simon, M.D. Editor, Harvard Men’s Health Watch Explore the many factors to consider when deciding how much (if any) alcohol is safe for you.

Buy the Special Health Report, to get details of the dangers of alcohol misuse, from drunk driving to chronic, life-threatening health conditions. Image: © | Dreamstime.com As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.

Why do I lose weight when I drink alcohol?

Alcoholic Use Disorder (AUD) Impacts Self-Care – In AUD, compulsions and cravings for alcoholic drinks overtake even the most basic aspects of daily living, including eating. People with alcohol use disorder lose weight because their calorie intake has dropped below their energy requirements for everyday life. This may be because:

They are too preoccupied with drinking to be concerned with food Their lives are too chaotic to enable them to shop, and cook, regularly or safely They are spending all their money on alcohol, and therefore cannot afford to buy food They do not have the facilities to store or to prepare food, and do not consider obtaining these important

Alcohol research shows that weight loss in AUD often forms part of a wider pattern of self-neglect, Self-neglect is often a particular problem for the follow groups of people who abuse alcohol:

Older adults People with learning disabilities People who struggle to engage with statutory services People who lead very isolated lives

Will I lose weight if I cut out beer and soda?

You’ll cut your sugar and calorie intake – Sugar and calories are like smoke and fire — if there’s a lot of one, there’s probably a lot of the other. So when you decide not to drink that 12-ounce can of soda, you’ve saved yourself about 140 calories and 32 grams of sugar.

• That one can holds a whopping 7 grams more than the American Heart Association’s recommended daily intake of 25 grams of sugar for women, and just 4 grams under the recommended daily intake of 36 grams for men.
• And by lowering your sugar and calorie intake, you lower your risk for weight gain and other metabolic issues like high blood pressure — metabolic changes that can make it harder to burn fat and lose weight.

“Cutting soda out of your diet not only lowers your risk for weight gain, but may help you actually lose weight as well,” says Dr. Rodriguez-Lopez.

Is beer good or bad for losing weight?

Here are 10 reasons why beer is not really bad for you, if had in moderation. Please note, this is not an encouragement to imbibe, especially if you are a teetotaler or have a medical condition 1. Beer drinkers live longer Moderate drinking is good for you, and beer is good for moderate drinking.

• Everyone knows that if you drink too much, it’s not good for you.
• Let’s not pull punches: If you’re a drunk, you run into things, you drive into things, you get esophageal cancer, you get cirrhosis and other nasty conditions.
• But more and more medical research indicates that if you don’t drink at all, that’s not good for you either.

According to numerous independent studies, moderate drinkers live longer and better than drunks or teetotalers. Beer is perfect for moderate drinking because of its lower alcohol content and larger volume compared with wine or spirits. And as that old radical Thomas Jefferson said, “Beer, if drank with moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.” And he didn’t need a scientific study to tell him that.2.

Beer is all-natural Some know-it-alls will tell you that beer is loaded with additives and preservatives. The truth is that beer is as all-natural as orange juice or milk (maybe even more so – some of those milk & OJ labels will surprise you). Beer doesn’t need preservatives because it has alcohol and hops, both of which are natural preservatives.

Beer is only “processed” in the sense that bread is: It is cooked and fermented, then filtered and packaged. The same can be said for Heineken.3. Beer is low in calories, low in carbohydrates and has no fat or cholesterol For a completely natural beverage, beer offers serious low-calorie options.

Twelve ounces of Guinness has the same number of calories as 12 ounces of skim milk: about 125. That’s less than orange juice (150 calories), which is about the same as your standard, “full-calorie” beer. If beer were your only source of nutrition, you’d have to drink one every waking hour just to reach your recommended daily allowance of calories (2,000 to 2,500).

And nobody’s recommending you drink that many. The only natural drinks with fewer calories than beer are plain tea, black coffee and water, Surely, beer is loaded with those fattening carbohydrates, right? Wrong again. The average beer has about 12 grams of carbs per 12-ounce serving.

• The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance is 300 grams of carbohydrates in a standard 2,000-calorie diet.
• In other words, you would need to drink an entire 24-pack case of beer – and then reach into a second case – simply to reach the government’s recommended daily allotment of carbohydrates.
• You’re better off munching an apple or drinking some soda pop if you want to carbo-load.

Each has about 35 to 40 grams of carbs – three times the number found in a beer. Also, beer has no fat or cholesterol.4. Beer improves your cholesterol Beer not only has no cholesterol, it can actually improve the cholesterol in your body. In fact, drinking beer regularly and moderately will tilt your HDL/LDL cholesterol ratios the right way.

• You’ve got two kinds of cholesterol in your system: HDL, the “good” cholesterol that armor-plates your veins and keeps things flowing, and LDL, the “bad” cholesterol that builds up in your veins like sludge in your bathtub drain.
• Beer power-flushes the system and keeps the HDL levels up.
• According to some studies, as little as one beer a day can boost your HDL by up to 4 per cent.5.

Beer helps you chill The social aspects of moderate drinking are solidly beneficial to your health. In other words, to get out every now and then and relax with your buddies over a couple of beers.6. Beer has plenty o’ B vitamins Beer, especially unfiltered or lightly filtered beer, turns out to be quite nutritious, despite the years of suppression of those facts by various anti-alcohol groups.

Beer has high levels of B vitamins, particularly folic acid, which is believed to help prevent heart attacks. Beer also has soluble fiber, good for keeping you regular, which in turn reduces the likelihood that your system will absorb unhealthy junk like fat. Beer also boasts significant levels of magnesium and potassium, in case you were planning on metal-plating your gut.7.

Beer is safer than water If you’re someplace where you are advised not to drink the water, the local beer is always a safer bet. It’s even safer than the local bottled water. Beer is boiled in the brewing process and is kept clean afterwards right through the bottle being capped and sealed, because if it isn’t, it goes bad in obvious ways that make it impossible to sell.

• Even if it does go bad, though, there are no life-threatening bacteria bacteria (pathogens) that can live in beer.
• So drink up – even bad beer is safer than water.8.
• Beer prevents heart attacks If you want to get a bit more cutting-edge than vitamins, beer has other goodies for you.
• You’ve heard of the French Paradox, how the French eat their beautiful high-fat diet and drink their beautiful high-booze diet and smoke their nasty goat-hair cigarettes, but have rates of heart disease that are about one-third that of the rest of the world? It’s been credited to red wine and the antioxidants it contains.

Hey, guess what else has lots of antioxidants, as many as red wine? Dark beer! According to the American Heart Association, “there is no clear evidence that wine is more beneficial than other forms of alcoholic drink.” One study profiled in the British Medical Journal in 1999 said that the moderate consumption of three drinks a day could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 24.7 per cent.9.

Beer fights cancer The most amazing beer and health connection is something called xanthohumol, a flavonoid found only in hops. Xanthohumol is a potent antioxidant that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes, “much more potent than the major component in soy,” according Dr. Cristobal Miranda of the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University.

This xanthohumol stuff is so good for you that the Germans have actually brewed a beer with extra levels of it.10. Beer does not give you a beer belly A study done by researchers at the University College of London and the Institut Klinické a Experimentální Medicíny in Prague in 2003 showed no connection between the amount of beer people drank and the size of their overhang.

There is a common notion that beer drinkers are, on average, more ‘obese’ than either non-drinkers or drinkers of wine or spirits,” the researchers said. But they found that “the association between beer and obesity, if it exists, is probably weak.” Most studies have found that people who drink beer regularly (and moderately) not only don’t develop beer bellies – they weigh less than non-drinkers.

Beer can boost your metabolism, keep your body from absorbing fat and otherwise make you a healthier, less disgusting slob. Just drink it in moderation, as part of an otherwise healthy diet. So that’s it. Drink beer. You’ll live longer and be happier. You won’t get fat.

• In fact, you may weigh less.
• You’ll boost your metabolism, improve your health and reduce your risk of clogged arteries, heart attack and cancer.
• What more could you want? Beer calories content Beer contains a low amount of alcohol as compared to other hard drinks.
• It has only 4 to 6 per cent of alcohol by volume (ABV).

However, the amount of alcohol may vary as per the brand of beer you are consuming. A pint of beer contains 208 calories. Nutritional value 340 ml of standard beer contains: Calories:153 Protein: 1.6 grams Fat: 0 grams Carbs:13 grams Riboflavin: 7% of the DV Choline: 7% of the DV Magnesium: 5% of the DV Phosphorus: 4% of the DV Selenium: 4% of the DV Who should avoid beer The evidence certainly suggests that beer has some health benefits, but one must not forget that it does contain some amount of alcohol.

Is beer more fattening than other drinks?

– Source: CNN ” data-fave-thumbnails=”, “small”: }” data-vr-video=”” data-show-html=”” data-check-event-based-preview=”” data-network-id=”” data-details=””> How alcohol affects your health 01:16 – Source: CNN CNN — I often tell people to steer clear of alcoholic beverages when trying to lose weight. After all, they don’t exactly provide nutritious calories, and consuming them can make it increasingly more challenging to lose weight, But that doesn’t stop people from asking me, “what is the best drink to have on a diet?” Clearly, some alcoholic beverages are more waistline-friendly than others. So the short answer is: If you’re looking to shed pounds, some of your lowest-calorie bets are a shot of spirits (for example, a 1.5-ounce shot of vodka, gin, rum, whiskey or tequila contains an average of 97 calories), a glass of champagne (about 84 calories per 4 ounces); a glass of dry wine (approximately 120 to 125 calories per 5 ounces) or a traditional martini, with an average of 124 calories for a 2.5-ounce serving. A light beer (approximately 100 calories) or a glass of reduced-calorie wine (about 90 to 100 calories) are other lower-calorie options. But if you want to know why some alcoholic beverages contain more calories than others, read on. Pure alcohol contains 7 calories per gram – that’s less than a gram of fat, which has 9 calories, but more than protein and carbs, which have 4 calories per gram each – but other variables of your drink influence the calorie count. The amount of alcohol, the total volume of a beverage, the amount of carbohydrates and sugars and mixers all play a role. Generally speaking, the biggest difference in calories in beverages comes from the alcohol content, but the presence of carbohydrates in alcoholic beverages also contributes largely to its calories, according to Dwayne Bershaw, who teaches winemaking classes in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. Any carbohydrates in wine consist of small amounts of sugar, which may either be left over from the original grape sugar after most of it ferments into alcohol or added from grape juice or some other source, in order to balance the acidity of the wine. Unless we’re talking about a dessert wine, this amount of sugar is generally small and does not contribute a significant amount of calories to wine. Beer is made from grain, which stores carbohydrates in the form of starch – specifically large, branched sugar molecules, which are chopped into pieces by naturally occurring enzymes in malted barley during the brewing process. The smallest sugar pieces are converted to alcohol by yeast, but some larger pieces remain that cannot be broken down by yeast, according to Bershaw. These remaining carbohydrates contribute to the overall calorie count for most beers. Generally, beer has more calories than wine, but the calorie difference in the two primarily comes from the leftover carbohydrates in beer, as the sugar content for most wines is fairly low. Low-calorie beers have an additional enzyme added during the brewing or fermentation process, and it breaks down all of the starch molecules into simple sugars so there are no remaining carbohydrates. These beers also have a relatively low alcohol content to keep the total calorie count quite low, according to Bershaw. And generally, spirits – including vodka, tequila, rum and gin – do not contain any carbohydrates or sugars. Some producers may add small amounts of sugar to combat any perceived bitterness, according to Bershaw, but like wine, this small amount would not bump the calorie count much. Though they have higher alcohol by volume (up to 40% or more), the volume of a standard shot is small (1.5 ounces), making them a relatively lower-calorie option – that is, as long as you can stick to one shot or mix it with a zero-calorie beverage, like a diet cola, soda water or seltzer. Other ingredients – including mixers, tonic water, juice, soda, syrups, cream and coconut – all pack sugar and fat calories on top of alcohol and should be consumed with caution, explained Ginger Hultin, a registered dietitian, spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and author of the blog ChampagneNutrition. “Margaritas and pina coladas can have close to 500 calories per drink, depending on the size and how it’s made, and could be a real challenge for anyone with a weight loss goal,” Hultin added. Lisa Drayer is a nutritionist, an author and a CNN health and nutrition contributor.

Is beer bad for cutting weight?

– Share on Pinterest As alcohol is high in calories, it may hinder a person’s ability to lose weight. In a word, yes. Drinking alcohol can make it harder to lose weight. There are many reasons for this, including:

Alcohol is high in calories, and so are the mixers that are popular to use in many drinks.Calories from alcohol are empty calories, as they do not help the body meet its nutritional needs.People typically consume alcoholic drinks as extras, adding to their regular daily calorie intake.Drinking alcohol relaxes people’s inhibitions, which can make them more likely to overeat or opt for unhealthful foods.Alcohol interferes with the body’s fat-burning mechanisms.Drinking too much alcohol can reduce an individual’s interest in exercise.

Although some studies have found that drinking light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol is not necessarily linked to weight gain, researchers suggest that drinking alcohol can sometimes be a risk factor for obesity. For some people, alcoholic beverages contribute a significant number of calories to the total amount that they consume each day.