Beer and "Empty Calories"

[KEV1N]

I just got me a 6 of the seasonal Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale. 9.6% alcohol! I wonder how it tastes! Anyways my roommate and I were having a conversation about the "empty calories" in beer. What does this mean exactly? Where do the calories come from? Gotta maintain my girlish figure, you know.

 

[Whisper]

Beer is made from grain, and so the calories mostly come from that would be my guess. As for why they're empty: man, I forget the exact reasoning behind it. But basically, it's a bunch of calories from a drink, which won't leave you feeling overly full. And besides that, alcohol makes you crave greasier foods and such, which compounds the problem. I think a can of beer has something like 150-300 calories at least, depending on the type.

 

[dolph]

i always thought empty calories were called that because the food/drink it referred to had limited nutritional value (ie vitamins, etc)

 

[SagaLore]

Beer is not exactly empty. Since it's made of hops, it has a small amount of vitamins and bioflavanoids in it. Beer in moderation is actually good for your heart as it's a blood thinner.

 

[jst0ney]

empty calories are calories that do nothing for you. No nutrional value but high in calories. Like white bread. Leads to the common beer gut. BTW Bigfoot rocks.

 

[jst0ney]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Beer is not exactly empty. Since it's made of hops, it has a small amount of vitamins and bioflavanoids in it. Beer in moderation is actually good for your heart as it's a blood thinner.

Yeah but the carbs kill you.

 

[glugglug]

Yeah but the carbs kill you.

That's a bunch of crap.

Your brain (and almost all of the rest of your body) runs on glucose, a CARB. The only reason you can survive on fat is because the fat gets broken down into carbs.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: glugglug

Yeah but the carbs kill you.

That's a bunch of crap.

Your brain (and almost all of the rest of your body) runs on glucose, a CARB. The only reason you can survive on fat is because the fat gets broken down into carbs.

Yup. The real reason beer makes you fat is mostly extra calories. You knock back 4-6 beers a night and that's an extra 560-840 kcal per day. That will easily put an extra pound a week on your ass. There have been some studies indicating the alcohol in more than a few beers daily will do funky things to your metabolism and make you even fatter.

 

[Eli]

Empty calories means just that, calories that contain no other nutritional value.

Most of the American diet is empty calories. 😛

 

[brigden]

You knock back 4-6 beers a night...

Ha ha. I usually fire off twelve before I go out drinking...

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: brigden
You knock back 4-6 beers a night...

Ha ha. I usually fire off twelve before I go out drinking...

Then you have a drinking problem and empty calories should be the least of your concerns.

 

[Marauder-]

YEah - it slows down your metabolism

 

[schdaddy]

EDIT: I'm a fvckin' idiot


FYI - soda is also considered empty calories

 

[geckojohn]

That beer rockS!

 

[Marauder-]

Originally posted by: schdaddy
EDIT: I'm a fvckin' idiot


FYI - soda is also considered empty calories

Yeah - so why waste your daily quota of empty calories on a soda when you can have a beer! Or you can go all out and just use that soda like how it was meant to be used - A MIXER!

 

[KEV1N]

Wow, thanks. And the Bigfoot ale was STRONG. 9.6% was no lie! I was sleeping like a baby by halftime!

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: Marauder-

Originally posted by: schdaddy
EDIT: I'm a fvckin' idiot


FYI - soda is also considered empty calories

Yeah - so why waste your daily quota of empty calories on a soda when you can have a beer! Or you can go all out and just use that soda like how it was meant to be used - A MIXER!

LMAO. That's almost sig material! (OK, it probably is sig material, I'm just too lazy to use it.)

 

[spyordie007]

Actually there are some vitamins in Beer so it's not entirely empty calories. I was under the impression that it was high in several vitamins especially some of the B vitamins. Anyone have specific nutritional facts for a can of beer (the good stuff, no bud)?

-Spy

 

[KEV1N]

Originally posted by: spyordie007
Actually there are some vitamins in Beer so it's not entirely empty calories. I was under the impression that it was high in several vitamins especially some of the B vitamins. Anyone have specific nutritional facts for a can of beer (the good stuff, no bud)?

-Spy

I was thinking maybe it has Vitamin E or A? I guess this because after a night of heavy drinking, my skin looks really healthy in the morning.

 

[Saltin]

As for how your beer will taste...

Approaching 10% alcohol is when you can actually start to taste the booze in a beer.

If it's well made, who knows, it may be completely un-detectable.

A good beer should never taste to strongly of alcohol.