Is Beer Healthy? Which Beers are Healthiest?...

Is beer healthy?...

With a resounding YES, I hereby declare that beer consumed in moderation is healthy!  Thank goodness I could honestly say yes here, or I think I might have set off a boycott amongst our readership, and certainly risked losing my job here at Four EL!  Beer is considered divine around here at Four EL and everybody on the staff is an aficionado.  I know that I’m the resident fitness guy here, but we have some (self-proclaimed) beer connoisseurs that write for us, that I’m sure would have loved a chance to field this month’s nutrition topic.  Admittedly, I drink beer almost daily, but I often find myself in a New Belgium Fat Tire (Amber Ale) rut, for lack of a better word.  Hey, when you find something love, why not stick with it?!  But some of our staff is out there field-testing in our local San Diego bars & microbreweries by noon every day, so they no doubt have a more well-rounded palates than I, so I must confess, a lot of my research was done via the internet.  San Diego is also home to some incredible microbreweries like Stone Brewing and Port Brewing, so we are also a bit biased to our home brews! 

                But let me dive into this discussion of what criteria it takes to consider a beer a healthy anyway.  Well I just applied the same criteria that one would to all other foods:  Is it nutritious, low in sugar, low in saturated fats, low in sodium, and relatively low in calories?  The good news is most beer inherently qualifies based on all these criteria!  (Caveat: As long as no more than 2 to 3 are consumed daily for the average man.)  In my consideration, alcohol content was a neutral factor and not a criterion, as there are as many cons as there are pros regarding alcohol consumption.  Generally speaking, the lower the calorie the beer, the lower it is in alcohol content, but then the more likely one is to drink more of that particular beer, to attain the satiety and ‘buzz’ they’re desiring when choosing to drink a beer in the first place.

Originally written for and printed in Four EL magazine by me, OCT 2013

Alcohol & it's Affect on Insulin & Dieting: Myths-BUSTED!

**NOT medical advice**

All these diet & holiday NAZI folks are chiming in telling you alcohol is going to make you FAT.  Guess what??  I'm here to tell you they're all full of CRAP!!  Tis the season to be MERRY!!

I'm going to discuss how alcohol is absorbed and metabolized, and used for energy in the body, (and why it does not make you fat!)  I’m going to dispel a few myths or common misbelieves, mostly pertaining to diet and weight loss, and our health.  I have no intention to discuss the many adverse effects on one’s motor skills from an aviation aspect or otherwise, or get into BAC levels or any kind of legal or ethical discussion.  I don’t want to bore you with such repetitiveness or present you with yet even more information bashing alcohol.  In fact much to the contrary, this article will cast a positive light on including moderate amounts of alcohol in your diet.  But this isn’t a result of me just presenting information from selective sources that you want to hear.  This is based on a broad review of many studies and resources, with no spin on my part.     

    Myth: Alcohol makes you fatter.  Excess calories make you fatter, period.  Alcohol has 7 calories per gram and can be used as an energy source by the body just like carbs, protein, and fat can, (4, 4, and 9 calories per gram respectively).  The only catch is that the body must burn the alcohol calories first, before it can move on to the other food you’ve eaten.  However, don’t forget to consider your mixer, or how dark your beer is, as this will add carbs/sugars and additional calories to your alcoholic beverage.  When you order that Margarita or Bloody Mary, you’re drinking a lot more than just alcohol.

Beverage Table	Serving Size in Ounces (Standard)	% Alcohol by Volume (About 10 to 15 grams)	Approx. Calories/Carbs
Wine	5 ounces	12.5 %	115 cals/4 g
Beer	12 ounces	4 to 5 %	130 cals/13 g
Liquor/Whiskey	1.5 ounce (shot glass)	40 % (80-proof)	75 cals/0 g

** Some of the calories accounted for in this chart for beer and wine are from the additional carbs/sugars they contain.  This is a standard serving, but most of us usually drink more per serving.  Darker beers and micro-brews are higher in calories, from both higher alcohol and carb content.  Dry wine will have as little as 2 grams of sugar per serving**