Alcohol Nutrition

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I dug up some stats on beer, if anyone's interested...
From: About.com: http://www.allaboutbeer.com/features/233beer&health.html

Beer contains 150 calories.
Beer has no fat
Beer has no cholesterol
Beer is caffeine free
Beer contains no nitrate
Beer contains 1 gram of protein and 13 grams of carbohydrates
Beer contains significant amounts of magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, and biotin
Beer is chock full of the B vitamins (as anyone who has taken brewer's yeast as a B supplement already knows), with impressive amounts of B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxin), and B9 (folate), with smaller amounts of B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B12 inotisol and choline.
Beer is 92 percent water
 
We all chose our poison. I personally prefer a drink to a piece of cake or a cookie. We're all different. Real alcohol has the same "nutritional count" (as Andy mentioned) no matter what it is, and has no carbs. I'll never figure out why. Rum, whiskey, vodka, gin, etc .... all the same according to the books I read. My husband is diabetic, and he has to really watch beer and wine.

I agree with you. We all need some empty calories, we all need to do things just for the heck of it. As I said, we all need to choose our poison. If I had to choose between a piece of cake and a glass of wine, I'll take the latter every time. I'm just not a sweets lover.
 
Actually, there is a fair amount of research into the health "benefits", or at least positive "side effects", of alcohol consumtion. Aparently, 4 oz. of wine daily provides a significant protection from heart disease although researchers are unsure of the mechanism. Red wine is more protective than white wine. Also, being a person who drinks no alcohol is a significant risk indicator for dementia. Again, the reasons are not clear. Obviously, the health risks for over indulgence definitely outweigh any benefits so there are no recommendations that people deliberately drink alcohol for health reasons. With all this in mind, when I do have alcohol, I've been choosing red wine. (A 4 oz. glass knocks me out so there's little risk for me getting carried away! :LOL:).
 
Dementia? Really? Well there is tonights reason to drink! Drink to stay sane, and Jimmy Buffet said if we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane.

Whiskey, improving mental health since, ummm...I forgot?
 
Fun fact: mixing fruits with alcohol increases the antioxidant effects already found in those fruits.

So alcohol CAN have health benefits!

Just not on its own. :)
 
YT2095 dips cherries in his beer... Good Call dude! :cool:

edit: second thoughts, best Not, I wouldn`t want to get Stoned!
 
An ounce of 80 proof booze contains 64 calories
An ounce of 86 proof booze contains 70 calories
An ounce of 90 proof booze contains 73 calories
An ounce of 100 proof booze contains 82 calories

A 12 oz can of beer is around 150 calories
A 12 oz can of light beer is around 100 calories

Five ounces of a dry red wine runs about 96 calories
Five ounces of a dry white wine runs about 120-125 calories

And what's wrong with empty calories? No fats, no cholesterol and low carbs except for the beer.


Not that I am one to talk Cause I enjoy a good drink here and there. But a post from a respected friend on another forum, sums up what is wrong with Alcohol.

1. Alcohol is empty calories.
2. Alcohol dehydrates you
3. Alcohol slows down your metabolism
4. Alcohol inhibits protein synthesis
5. Alcohol blocks the absorption of nutrients to the muscles
6. Alcohol lowers testosterone
7. Alcohol increases estrogen
8. Alcohol consumption is catabolic
 
Dementia? Really? Well there is tonights reason to drink! Drink to stay sane, and Jimmy Buffet said if we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane.

Whiskey, improving mental health since, ummm...I forgot?

Actually, Tatt, I think he said if we weren't crazy, we would all go insane. At least, that's what it says on my T-shirt.

I've always heard that there was nourishment in beer. In fact, back in the stone age, when I was nursing my babies, the doctor told me to drink a beer or two every evening. "Beer makes milk," he said. I don't know if that's true, but I had plenty.

Then, there's the old biker's theory that "there's a pork chop in every can."
 
Fun fact: mixing fruits with alcohol increases the antioxidant effects already found in those fruits.

So alcohol CAN have health benefits!

Just not on its own. :)

Unfortunately, 99% of the people who put fruit in their alcohol, drink the alcohol and leave the fruit in lying in the bottom of the container, untouched!
 
The USDA does have some nutritional content on alcoholic beverages... If you google for "usda nutrient database" (with the quotes), and go to the first page in the results (I'd post a direct link but I'm not allowed to yet..*sigh*), you can get info for some alcoholic beverages...

The page title should be "US Dept of Agriculture Nutrient database for Standard Reference"

For example, you'll get data searching for "whiskey" but not "bourbon".
 
We don't drink the hard stuff, but we do drink beer. To cut down on the calories and alcohol we drink light beer.
 
Well, one thing you should know:

Carbohydrates and Proteins = 4 calories per gram
Fat = 9 calories per gram
ALCOHOL = 7 calories per gram

Out of these categories, alcohol is the most troublesome, because it is providing you with empty calories. Fat, has a purpose. Carbs, have a purpose. Protein, has a purpose. Alcohol, however, does little to nothing for you. Granted, there are some benefits depending upon the drink, but overall alcohol is terrible for you.
 
Alcohol should be consumed in moderation....or course. Further, Alcohol brings some health benefits to the table including lower cholesterol and less chance of heart disease. Now, concerning the calories.

Alcohol is metabolized by the liver. When alcohol (ethanol to be exact) is metabolized, it is converted to acetate. Acetate is an energy source (thus the 7 calories). The human body will preferentially use acetate as a fuel source if it is present. Acetate is capable of fueling every single physiological function in the human body from thermogenesis to physical work.

The interesting thing about acetate as a fuel is that it does NOT have a macromolecular storage form. That is, if there is excess present (more acetate fuel than needed for the current workload), it can not be converted and stored for later use. Carbohydrates are stored as glucose, fats are stored as fatty acid, and proteins as amino acids....but acetate can not be stored. Thus, it must be burned and it will remain in the blood stream until it has been burned thus keeping your body from burning other fuel sources.

This means that when you drink alcohol, any food that you have eaten or any fat in the blood stream will be converted and stored for later use while your body is fueled by the acetate. This means that excess alcohol does not cause you to gain weight due to its caloric value. No, on the contrary, it’s the regular food you eat that will cause the weight gain since the alcohol (acetate) must be burned first before your body will resume burning regular food sources for energy. In fact, studies have shown that men that have replaced set quantities of food calories with alcohol calories actually lose weight since acetate can not be stored in the body and must be burned.
 
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