Drink

Beer calories

One of the most controversial questions surrounding this drink is whether beer makes you fat. A question that has an answer that depends, due to the different varieties of beers currently on the market.

Maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is essential for our well-being. It is not just a question of image, since being overweight and eating poorly can cause health problems, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart problems or respiratory conditions. And the problem is that when a doctor puts someone on a diet, the first thing he takes away is tobacco… and alcohol.

However, before you start getting overwhelmed and looking for ways to cut calories from beer, you really need to know what that calorie intake is and if this tasty drink has any other implications for our nutrition. We already told you that the problem is not as serious as they make it out to us, as long as you consume responsibly.

nutritional value of beer

Beer is a fermented drink that is made from water, malted barley or another cereal and hops , to which some extra can be added, as happens in craft beers. The malting process is nothing more than the fermentation of barley or cereal, so that it has an adequate level of starch. Therefore, the first thing that becomes clear to us is that, regardless of the calories in alcoholic beer, it does not usually include preservatives, dyes or other unhealthy ingredients.

This leads us to evaluate what is the nutritional value of this drink. In this regard, it is important to know that not all beers have the same composition, in terms of percentages of each nutrient, so the calories in Mahou beer will surely be different from those in Alhambra or San Miguel beer. We will talk about this topic a bit later.

What we can estimate is the usual nutritional value of beer. In general, the largest source of calories in a beer comes from alcohol, so the more degrees it has, the greater the amount of calories it provides. It also includes a significant contribution of carbohydrates, around 30%, along with 5% protein. Additionally, beer also provides phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and even folic acid, among other interesting nutrients. All this without forgetting that 92% of beer is water , so this drink is an interesting source of hydration when the heat is on.

calories in beer

If you have read the previous point, you have probably been surprised not to find an answer to knowing the number of calories in a can of beer. It is not an error. As we have said before, the amount is variable and that is why we wanted to analyze it separately.

The first aspect that influences that number of calories is the degree of alcohol in the drink. For example, an Alhambra 1925, of 6.4 degrees of alcohol, provides 69 calories per 100 milliliters. For its part, the traditional Cruzcampo, at 4.8 degrees, provides 50 calories per 100 milliliters, which means that the calories of a Cruzcampo beer would be about 100. However, the degree is not everything, given that Heineken also has 5 degrees and yet its caloric intake is somewhat lower, 35 calories per 100 milliliters. Therefore, the only way to accurately know the caloric content of your favorite beer is to take a look at the label. By the way, if you want to know how many calories a 33cl beer has, just multiply the amount indicated for 100 milliliters of product by 3.3.

Calories according to type of beer

Given the concern for health, it is common for us to find special beers on the market, either under the denomination 0.0 or without alcohol or the so-called light drinks. It is important not to confuse them, since they are not all the same. A non-alcoholic beer is one that has a lower amount of alcohol, as is logical, established by law at less than 1% by volume. For its part, beer 0.0 is the one that does not contain any alcohol. For its part, light beer is one in which the level of calories is reduced, generally by evaporating part of the alcohol in the last phase of production.

In general, the magic figure is around 25 to 30 calories in non-alcoholic beer, a similar amount as in non-alcoholic ones. For its part, the zero zero reduce the level a little more, staying at about 20 to 24 calories. However, as we said with normal beer, these are general figures and they vary from brand to brand.

So beer is not fattening?

Well, the truth is that beer, as such, is not something that makes you too fat. A third of beer would have, under normal conditions, about 150 calories, the equivalent of about 100 grams of cooked pasta. Obviously, if we drink a six-pack of beer, we would be providing a good amount of calories, in addition to ending up with a considerable and rather silly binge.

The fundamental problem with beer is the type of calories it provides. These come from alcohol, which are basically sugars. These are metabolized first , so everything we eat with beer will be in reserve until we need more energy than beer provides. And since we’re not likely to work out after a beer and a few tapas, that meal is likely to end up as fat, stored away for worse times.

This does not mean that beer is fattening or not. It is simply a matter of maintaining responsible consumption regarding the amount we consume. Also regarding the accompaniment, trying not to eat particularly fatty foods or in large quantities, which will be the ones that end up making us fat.

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