Low Calorie Alcoholic Drinks

guido · Site Admin Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 376 Location: Italy

It is the summer. It is hot. At most social events the offer of a cold drink is often the first task of the host.

“I‘ve got to cut back on the calories. Have you got anything that's low in calories?“ This is a common request that more and more party hosts are receiving these days. People want to be sociable and have a glass in their hand as they meet other interesting people, but at the same time they are counting their calories more and more. Calories do count.

Alcohol, like all things we consume (except water), contains calories. So when dieters are keeping track of their caloric intake, they can't forget alcoholic beverages. For most drinks, it is the alcohol that contributes to the total calorie content. So a comparison between drinks is easy; the higher the alcohol content, the higher the calorie count. The alcohol content of a beverage can calculated from its percentage alcohol content by volume (% ABV), which is marked on the bottle or container. Beer can have an alcohol content ranging from 0.05 -10%, wine usually is 5-13%, while liquors and liqueurs can be 14-40% alcohol. For drinks such as liqueurs that have lots of sugar in them, it is a combination of the alcohol and the sugar that bumps up their calorie count.

So what to offer? For the beer drinkers there is the choice of lite beer. By making that switch, a party goer can save about 40 calories per bottle. But what about drinks that contain "hard liquor"? Many people think gin is lowest in calories, but it just isn't so. Gin and tonic may have been the drink of choice for colonials, but that was to fight off malaria. Ounce per ounce gin has just as many calories as rum, whisky or tequila providing they all have the same alcohol content.
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In vino veritas!

guido · Site Admin Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 376 Location: Italy

In the statistic for this website, i noted a high interest for this topic.
I think it's time to put on some other notes.

First, we need to say again that "low calories alcohol" DOES NOT EXIST
why? Alcohol has no fat, no protein and traces carbohydrates so where all this calories comes from?

Ethyl alcohol - the type found in beverages - is produced through the fermentation of sugar by yeast. Fruits are high in sugar content, while grains are high in starch, which, when cereals are used, first must be converted to sugar. Alcohol, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia of Nutrition, offers "little nutritional value outside of its energy content and is simply another form of empty calories."

In few words, according to the table below, if you need to loose weight, do not stop eating, before you stop drinking alcohol.

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In vino veritas!

paulamathers · Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 12:46 pm Post subject:

but its so nice! Wink

you can also (in england) get alcohol free wine thats low calorie, it has about 40 calories in the whole bottle and its called amee. i used to drink it when i was pregnant because all my friends were drinking alcohol and i felt left out! it tastes really good, is very refreshing and low in calories! great!