Re: Re: organic beer and ale: hops

[Guest guest]

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> , I think you're right that " too much " is probably different for

> everyone. Here's a biased, but interesting opinion from an expert on

> brewing:

I think that's a bit too biased to be meaningful. Note the conclusion.

>> " The message for consumers, " Bamforth said, " is that the only

>> sustainable and sensible way to lose weight and avoid weight gain is

>> to focus on the calorie content of all foods and beverages, including

>> beer, " Bamforth said.

He's pretty clearly opposing the notion that carb restriction (as

opposed to calorie counting) is a " sustainable " and " sensible " way to

lose weight and avoid weight gain, which I think most of us would

agree is patent nonsense. Of course, as a purveyor of beer, what else

can he say? Beers are carby. Here's a page with carb and calorie

counts for a number of beers. <http://www.beer100.com/

beercalories.htm> Oh, and here's another one with a few additional

data points. <http://www.realbeer.com/edu/health/calories.php>

On the low end there's stuff like Michelob Ultra, a low-carb beer,

with 2.6g of carb (not counting alcohol, of course) and 95 calories.

On the high end, there's stuff like Sam Boston Ale, with 19.9g

and 160 calories and Sam Cream Stout, with 23.94g of carb and

195 calories.

I've had a couple Michelob Ultras, and they are BORING. Pretty much

the ultimate in pointless, empty calories, even if they don't have

many carbs. 84.6 calories of alcohol for absolutely no gustatory

enjoyment whatsoever. Between the alcohol and the carbs, though, just

one regular, carby beer is pretty much enough to destroy weight loss

for many people, and more than one... well, it wouldn't be a pretty

picture.

Dry red wines, I think, are roughly in light beer territory, which is

to say a glass is a little carbier and more caloric than a Michelob

Ultra, though it probably varies significantly from wine to wine. And

of course it also depends on how you pour the glass. <g> I think dry

whites are a little less carby (maybe closer to a low-carb beer)

though maybe not any less caloric.

Regardless of the straight carb count of various drinks, though, I

think not counting alcohol at all when trying to lose (or maintain)

weight through carb restriction is a mistake. Alcohol has 7 calories

per gram, and while only a relatively small amount of it is turned

directly into fat, most of it is converted to acetate, which then

shuts off the body's own fat burning for quite some time while the

acetate is metabolized. Alcohol further contributes to the problem by

stimulating appetite, so when drinking, you're likely to eat more...

right when your fat burning is shut off, meaning more of your larger

portion of food will be converted to fat and deposited rather than

being burned.

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