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Jun
2010

Alcoholic Beverage Choices for the Health Conscious

This will be my last post until I return from Vegas. So, I figured I would highlight the lowest calorie drinks since I am about to head out to Sin City, and would like to be friendly to the waist-line. First of all, it is important to remember that what is considered safe for alcohol is 1 drink per day for women, and 2 drinks per day for men. And no, you can not save up, and then go to Vegas and binge drink–not healthy. However, this is Vegas we are talking about.

Top Choices for Lighter Alcoholic Drinks:

1. Wine: on average about 100 calories per 5 oz. glass, plus wine contains heart healthy polyphenols
2. Vodka Soda/Vodka Diet Tonic: about 70-90 calories depending on the vodka brand/proof
3. Champagne: one flute is only about 75 calories
4. Coconut Rum is surprisingly lower in calories than other hard liquors: 51 calories per oz.; just mix with a diet tonic, and splash of orange juice and you have a drink under 100 calories! Don’t forget there are other light liquor choices like tequila, brandy, scotch which are all about 65 calories per oz.
5. Bacardi and Diet Coke/Diet Tonic: a traditional cocktail at 65 calories per 5 oz drink, but I’m not a huge fan of coke…
6. Gin and Diet Tonic: a personal fav at 120 calories per 6 oz.
7. Lemon Juice and Lime Juice will only set you back 10 calories; add to a flavored liquor on the rocks or with diet soda/tonic.
8. Light Beer: about 60-115 calories depending on brand

When not at a bar, you can get more healthy conscious by buying 100% fruit juice, diet mixers, mixing sangria, skinny margaritas, or pomegranate cocktails!

Did you know?? Alcohol is not a carbohydrate–it is a separate category. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram which puts alcohol in-between carbohydrates and fat (less energy per gram than fat, but more energy per gram than carb/protein). This means is that it can be easy to consume hundreds of calories from alcohol without realizing.