Recently, a sober lifestyle is gaining more and more popularity, being an integral part of a healthy diet. But many, even among the staunch followers of this lifestyle, from time to time can afford to relax with a glass of wine or beer.
For a person on a diet, alcohol is dangerous with a lot of calories, but where does the calorie content in alcohol come from? Despite the fact that strong drinks only provoke appetite and do not saturate the body at all, drinking them in large quantities is really fraught with weight gain, and the explanation for this is quite logical.
Why alcohol provokes weight gain
Many are familiar with the concept of “for appetite,” when a small amount of an alcoholic drink is drunk before a meal. In fact, this is not a sign of alcoholism, but the effective advice of many experts to improve digestion and increase appetite.
The caloric content of alcohol in this case greatly raises the level of glucose in the blood, getting into the body. As a result, a large amount of glucose quickly dissolves fats, sugar levels decrease, and a person begins to feel hunger. In order to get rid of it sooner, first of all, high-calorie fatty or sweet food is absorbed. And if you continue to consume alcohol, the cycle will start again, and a feeling of hunger will make you eat a lot of carbohydrates, which will turn into subcutaneous fat completely. That is, the more we drink, the more we eat - that’s the whole secret.
Features of "strong" drinks
Why does the body not absorb energy from food when drinking alcohol? This is another feature of strong drinks. The fact is that the caloric content of alcohol does not carry any energy value. There is nothing useful in such drinks, and it is thanks to such a “lightweight” composition that they are absorbed first of all and very quickly. That is, if you drink and snack, then the body will first consume calories from alcohol, and everything received from food will be sent "in reserve".
Any strong drink interferes with the absorption of energy from food. That is why it immediately goes to the fat folds, and the person’s weight increases. By the way, the stronger the drink, the more calories it has and its effect is stronger.
Terms of use
To reduce the negative effects of alcohol on the figure, you should adhere to certain rules when using it:
- In order not to block the processing of calories from food, drink strong drinks as slowly as possible.
- When drinking alcohol, you should refrain from sugary and carbonated drinks. This will speed up its digestion and reduce the amount of calories consumed.
- Before a feast, it is recommended to drink a couple of glasses of plain water. This will fill the stomach, and in the future, drink and eat will turn out much less.
- It is also recommended to eat well before drinking. This will likewise reduce the amount of alcohol consumed and consumed in the future.
- The calorie content of strong alcohol is the highest, therefore, to preserve the figure, it is better to give preference to drinks with a small degree.
- Snack should always be low-calorie. Optimum foods are fruits and meat. Even while drinking the lowest-calorie beer, jamming with salty snacks can provoke a serious weight gain.
Ways to reduce calories
Alcohol and weight loss, according to the rules of any diet, are incompatible, but if you can’t refuse to drink alcohol, you can simply reduce its negative effect on the body by simple but effective methods:
- The best option is to dilute alcohol with water. This principle of consumption is very common abroad, when several ice cubes are added to strong drinks. Gradually melting, ice dilutes the drink, reducing its calorie content and speed of intoxication.
- The principle of dilution of drinks in our country is rarely welcomed, and, if possible, it is better to replace it with an equally effective method. For this, between drinks, you just need to drink soft drinks. It is best to prefer plain water or freshly squeezed juices, which have a minimum sugar content.
- If the energy consumed per day is regularly calculated during the diet, then when compiling the ration for the day, the caloric content of alcohol, which is planned to be drunk in the evening, should be taken into account.

- Any cocktails, even the lightest in alcohol content, carry a lot of unnecessary calories in the body in the form of sweet juices, carbonated drinks and other components. If possible, replace them with wine or beer.
- To slow down the absorption of alcohol into the body, it is best to bite it with bread or meat dishes.
- Wine, whiskey and cognac contain tannins. They are able to slow down the absorption of alcohol into the blood.
- Do not exceed permissible alcohol consumption. For strong alcohol - 120 ml, for wine - 300 ml, and for beer - 1 liter.
What alcohol is low-calorie?
To reduce the consumption of excess calories, especially dieters, I wonder which of the alcoholic beverages have minimal energy value? As mentioned above, most calories are in strong drinks. So, 100 g of vodka, whiskey or cognac promises a person to receive approximately 250 kcal. If you add them to a cocktail or drink sweet liquor, then the number of calories increases even more.
The least degrees are in light beer, which is why many consider it to be low-calorie alcohol, but one should take into account that “foamy” is drunk in large quantities than strong alcohol. One liter of it can be equated to a full three-course dinner.
Salty snacks for beer carry an additional energy load, so in order not to get too much from drinking it, you should drink very little. True, as such, the effect of intoxication and relaxation after this does not occur at all, and after all, alcohol is used for this.
To relax in the evening after a hard day at the company, you can drink a glass of wine. Calories in it are not much more than in beer, but only if you choose dry or semi-dry varieties. Dessert wines contain a lot of sugar, which increases their energy value.
Beer Features
This foamy low alcohol drink has been known around the world for a very long time. The first recipes for its manufacture were described in the VI century BC. Beer was made from wheat, rye, barley and other crops, using it as a refreshing drink throughout the day.
Real beer is stored for only a couple of weeks, after which it loses its properties, but modern technologies can extend this period to several months. The first large-scale production of “foam” was launched in the XIV century, and the drink gained popularity in our country only under the reign of Peter I.
The calorie content of beer, as it turned out, is the lowest, and depending on the variety and strength, it can be only 29-55 kcal per 100 g. The problem with the weight of his lovers is in traditional high-calorie snacks for this drink, the amount of consumption and the high content of phytoestrogens.
Drink of the gods
This is what wine was considered in many worlds in antiquity.
They drank it instead of water and even gave it to children, because the drink helped to improve digestion, heart function, warming, relieve spasms, speed up metabolism and enrich the body with many useful substances. Today, wine is made only for consumption by adults and is used even in the preparation of many culinary dishes.
Dry white wine contains only 66 Kcal. Red is ahead of it in calories and carries in 100 g already 76 kcal. Interestingly, but not many people know that red wine is recommended to drink with anemia and heart disease.
In semi-dry and semi-sweet varieties of this alcohol, the caloric content per 100 ml reaches already about 78-90 kcal. Dessert wines carry the greatest energy value. Depending on the variety and degree, they can contain from 98 to 170 kcal.
Strong alcohol
The calorie content in it is maximum.
Vodka among the others is also distinguished by its disinfecting properties, which is why it is often used as an external agent for small cuts and abrasions. With its help, you can even remove the heat, if used for a compress. Regular consumption of vodka in an amount of 30 ml per day can significantly reduce blood cholesterol, but drinking it in parallel with any medications is strictly prohibited. Depending on the type of drink, the calorie content of alcohol can range from 200 to 240 kcal.
What affects calorie content
If you do not take into account the additional energy consumption with food, then the strength of any alcohol directly affects its strength. This is due to the fact that a large degree gives a high content of alcohol, yeast and sugar in the drink. The greatest amount of the latter is found in cocktails, whose degree is not always the highest, but the composition is necessarily enriched with carbonated drinks, cream, sweet juices and other products.
Table
So, to better understand the energy content in the most popular alcoholic beverages, you should familiarize yourself with the following table. It presents the calorie content of alcohol per 100 grams, starting from the lightest.
Calories per 100 gDrink | Calories |
Beer - 1.8% alcohol | 29th |
Beer - 2.8% alcohol | 34 |
Beer - 4.5% alcohol | 45 |
Dry white wine - 10-12% alcohol | 66 |
Red wine - 12% alcohol | 76 |
White wine - 12.5% alcohol | 78 |
Champagne - 12% alcohol | 88 |
White sweet wine - 13.5% alcohol | 98 |
Vermouth - 13% alcohol | 158 |
Madera - 18% alcohol | 139 |
Sherry - 20% alcohol | 126 |
Port 20% alcohol | 167 |
Sherry - 20% alcohol | 152 |
Sake - 20% alcohol | 134 |
Schnapps - 40% alcohol | 200 |
Whiskey - 40% alcohol | 220 |
Gin - 40% alcohol | 220 |
Rum - 40% alcohol | 220 |
Brandy - 40% alcohol | 225 |
Tequila 40% alcohol | 231 |
Vodka - 40% alcohol | 235 |
Cognac - 40% alcohol | 240 |
Sambuca - 40% alcohol | 240 |
Absinthe - 60% alcohol | 83 |
Conclusion
In order not to harm your body with the appearance of extra pounds, a person should control not only the use of solid food, but also various drinks. Sometimes the latter can aggravate the situation even more than a piece of sweet cake or a huge hamburger.
It should be remembered that some drinks contain not only empty calories, but also proteins. These are beer, champagne, sake and tequila. The latter, by the way, also contains 0.3% fat.
Of course, it is not necessary to completely exclude alcohol from your life; you just have to follow the basic rules of its use and not forget about the sense of proportion. Only being able to stop in time, you can save your figure and not provoke the appearance of alcoholism. These recommendations should be considered not only during the diet, but also in everyday life with any choice of nutrition.