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Low Carb Alcoholic Beverages
When you’re on a low carb diet everything you consume counts, even drinks! A low carb diet does not have to mean giving up great tasting drinks. However, navigating the world of counting carbs and moderation can be quite tricky without the proper guide. Thankfully, we’ve made things a bit more simple for you.
Alcohol and Carbohydrates
Your body treats alcohol with carbohydrates differently then food with carbohydrates. From a calorie standpoint, there are 7 calories per gram in alcohol and 4 calories per gram in carbohydrates. Your body burns the alcohol first for energy and then moves on to the carbs or fat content.
Where do carbohydrates come from?
Fermented drinks start as a high-carb plant. The most common of these are grapes or grains. The yeast eats up the carbs during the fermentation process, thus producing alcohol. The sugars left contribute to the carbohydrates in each beverage.
How to tell what’s low carb and high carb
- Dry wines have little residual sugars, making them lower in carbs
- Sweet wines have an abundance of sugar making them higher in carbs
- Distilled Spirits contain no carbs (example: whiskey, vodka, rum)
- Pre-made mixers are high in carbs due to the sugar content
- Beer has a high carb concentration (Drink in moderation)
Many factors can contribute to the carbohydrate content of a drink. Let’s look at the carb content of different drinks for comparison purposes.
Beer (12 oz serving)
Average: 12 grams
Light: 3-7 grams
Ale: 5-9 grams
Stout: 20 grams
Wine (5 oz serving)
Dry Champagne: 2.4-4.5 grams
Dry Red: 3.5-4 grams
Dry White: 3 grams
Zinfandel: 4.2 grams
Sweet or dessert wines: 12-20 grams
Liqueur (1.5 fl oz serving)
Bailey’s cream: 11 grams
Amaretto: 25 grams
Campari: 12 grams
Crème cacao: 22 grams
Coffee liqueur: 24 grams
B & B Benedictine: 8 grams
Crème de Cassis: 17 grams
Crème de Menthe: 21 grams
Grand Marnier: 10 grams
Kirsch: 9 grams
Ouzo: 16 grams
Sambuca: 17 grams
Triple Sec: 16 grams
Now that you know the facts, you can better manage your intake of carbohydrates and keep an eye on your weight. Having fun and managing your weight do not have to be mutually exclusive! Find a drink that fits within your carb range for the day, and drink responsibly, and you will find that being on a diet does not always have to be a bad thing.