No. Bread makes you fat…at least according to Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. But there is a slight caveat that Ramona Flowers does not
mention: pretty much anything is okay in moderation.
Some girls think of beer drinkers as smelly, middle aged men
with beer bellies protruding from their wife beaters. I’m just gonna squash
that stereotype right now—I don’t even own a wife beater. Also, girls associate
beer with bloating and an overall “full” feeling. This is how Miller 64
actually makes money; people will always sacrifice taste to save calories. But
beer only makes you full if you shotgun 4 of them in 5 minutes. Ain’t nobody
got money to drink like that from microbreweries.
Although craft beer has a reputation for being heavy and
making people heavy, it’s not the only drink with calories. Alcoholic beverages
are fairly caloric by nature. Take a look at the calories content in some of
these drinks:
Arbor Mist Exotic Fruits (8oz)—170
calories
Cosmopolitan (2.5oz)—170 calories
Tequila Shot (1.5oz)—97 calories
Rum and Diet Coke (10oz)—115
calories
Craft Beer Ale (12oz)—165 calories
I may be picking sides here, but drinking beer is not any
worse than drinking a cocktail. In some situations, especially when you look at
it ounce for ounce, craft beer is better than many alcoholic drinks. Plus, beer
is meant to be enjoyed over a little bit of time. It’s not a shot, it’s not a 4 ounce mix drink—it’s a 12
ounce experience.
I do have to mention that with beer that the higher the alcohol
content is, the higher the calorie count. The alcohol comes from from sugar in the beer,
and sugar has calories. However, if you drink a beer with a 9% ABV, you’ll feel
it. Although it’ll be over 200 calories, you’ll feel the effects more than you’d
feel one Cosmopolitan for 170 calories.
So if you’re one of the girls “just trying to get back to her
birth weight,” fear not. Remember the words of your high school health teacher when
she talked about moderation. As long as you don’t make it your nightly mission
to get white girl wasted on stouts and porters…you’ll be fine enjoying a beer or two.
The majority of caloric intake in craft beer comes from the alcohol. Ounce per ounce, craft beer is better for you than wine (and far, far better than mixed drinks).
ReplyDeleteWhile any alcohol does have a fairly high caloric intake, non-filtered craft beer also contains essential nutrients and B-vitamins. Many people complain about the carbohydrate content of beer. But all of the "simple sugars" like any fructose, glucose, maltose, maltitriose, etc are actually consumed by yeast and converted into 2 CO2 molecules and 2 ethanol moleces per sugar molecule. Yeast leave behind more complex carbohydrates, fibers, and proteins. While excessive quantities of any alcohol is bad, craft beer is relatively healthy. Especially when compared to mixed drinks.