Thursday, December 10, 2009

Alcohol Carbohydrates



As far as the question of carbohydrates in alcohol is concerned, there is a myth that non-alcoholic drinks contain less carbs, when compared with the regular alcoholic beverages. But the reality is the other way round and non-alcoholic beverages in fact contain higher carbs content. According to some of the low-carb diets- alcoholic beverages are not recommended, at least for the first phase of the diet, because alcohol can cause blood sugar to be erratic, depending upon the type & amount of the food we have. The effect of alcohol also depends on, whether we have food in our stomachs or not. It has been found through study that people who drank alcohol after a meal which included fat, protein, and carbohydrates absorbed the alcohol about three times more slowly than, when they consumed alcohol on an empty stomach. So, it is preferred not to drink on an empty stomach

Alcohol absorption level of women is different from men. When women consume the same amount of alcohol as men, it is found that they have higher Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) compared to men. It is also seen that women are more susceptible to alcoholic liver disease, heart muscle damage, and brain damage. The difference in BAC between women and men is because of smaller amount of body water in women & to dropping the same amount of alcohol into a smaller pail of water. Another factor contributing to the difference in BAC between men & women may be that women have lower activity of the alcohol metabolizing enzyme which is called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in the stomach, causing a larger proportion of the ingested alcohol to reach the blood. The combination of these factors may render women more vulnerable than men to alcohol. Thus, different alcoholic drinks contain varied amounts of alcohol carbohydrate content, it becomes of prime importance to take a note of alcohol carbohydrates, because if you are consuming a high carb drink and that too at frequent intervals, then it can be hazardous for your body.


Alcohol Item (Serving size) Carbs (g)
Beer Regular (12 fl oz) 13g
Beer Light (12 fl oz) 4.5g
Wine Red (3.5 fl oz) 1.75g
Wine Rose (3.5 fl oz) 1.5 g
Wine White (3.5 fl oz) 1g
Cider Dry (1 pint) 15g
Gin, Rum, Vodka, Whisky (1 fl oz) 0g
Sherry (2 fl oz) 3g
Port (2 fl oz) 6g
Guinness (1/2 pint) 4g

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