Do you know that a glass of wine contains the same number of calories as a piece of cake? How about a pint of beer? Would it surprise you to learn that it has the equivalent calorie value of a hamburger?

In a 2009 Department of Health survey of 2,000 adults, four out of ten admitted to having no idea how many calories alcohol contains.

The study also showed that the typical wine drinker takes in an additional 2,000 calories each month. Over a year, that’s about the same as consuming 184 bags of chips or 38 roast beef dinners, a pretty early number.

The calories contained in alcohol are very fattening

Wine, along with beer and cider and of course spirits, are our most popular beverages. All of these beverages are made by fermenting or distilling starch and sugars during the brewing process. As alcohol is high in sugar, this means that it contains a large number of calories which actually amounts to seven calories per gram, almost as many as in pure fat!

Calories from alcohol are considered empty calories – They have no nutritional benefit. Most beverages that contain alcohol have small trace amounts of minerals and vitamins, though generally not in amounts that make a significant contribution to your diet.

It’s not just calories that turn out to be a problem for your waistline. Drinking alcohol reduces the amount of fat your body uses for energy. Each of us can store nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats within our bodies, but we simply cannot store alcohol. So our systems really want to lose you fast, and doing so will have top priority. The many other operations that should be going on in the body (such as nutrient absorption and fat loss) are completely shut down.

alcohol and appetite

Along with the consumption of alcohol, there is often the temptation to consume unhealthy snacks. So when we go out to the pub at night, we head for these wrong, but tasty snacks like chips and peanuts. Then frequently top it off with some greasy fish and chips from the chip shop on the way home.

The Department of Health survey reported that nearly one in three people order chips, peanuts or other pub-style foods to accompany their drinks, while nearly a fifth frequently opt for takeaway. These are scary results from a healthy eating standpoint. Not surprisingly, since junk food is made to be attractive, it tastes good.

More than one in three said they will probably eat much more than normal and forget about the healthier diet altogether whenever they drink more than the recommended daily limit. And more than six in ten drinkers admit to eating an unhealthy breakfast every time they have a hangover.

How many calories are in an average alcoholic beverage?

Taking a pint of beer as the equivalent of a medium slice of pizza, and a full-size ready-to-drink bottle of an ‘alcopop’ as the equivalent of 100g of biscuits, the calories from alcohol soon add up. These are the values ​​of some other drinks:

White wine, glass – 175ml = 130 calories
Red wine, glass – 175 ml = 120 calories
Bitter, pint = 180-230 calories
5% Lager, pint = 240-50 calories
Stout, pint = 210 calories
Cider, pint = 180-250 calories
Gin and tonic = 126 calories
Whiskey – 25ml = 55 calories

Some Helpful Tips for Tackling Desirable Calories

• Eat every time you drink, as food slows the body’s rate of alcohol absorption.
• Drink slowly and stay in control: quality instead of quantity.
• Choose low-calorie or slimming drinks when possible.
• Adding a bit of water or even soda to your wine or spirits as a dilution really helps.

Don’t drink too much – protect your waistline and your head, as these alcoholic calories really add up.