Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Where Do The Calories in Beer Come From? 10 Facts to Know

Where do the calories in beer come from? Ironic as it may seem but in good times and bad times, beer is a regular companion. Beer is a beverage periodically enjoyed by most men, and women to add. However, it is not a secret that beer scores sky high in calories, thus where do all the calories in beer come from? Here are 10 surprising facts to know.
 
Where Do The Calories in Beer Come From? Facts 1-3

1. It is surprising to know that an average 12 ounce commercial beer has lesser calories that juice or soda. Super light beer can be lighter in terms of calories compared to a can of coke or a glass of orange juice.

2. To see the difference, average American lager like Budweiser with 5% ABV only has 145 calories at 12 ounce. Meanwhile, a 12 ounce Coke classic has about 155 calories and a 12 ounce orange juice yields 184 calories.

3. Moreover, other variety of light beer ranges from 100 to 112 calories at 12 ounces. Light beer also has lesser alcohol that averages about 4.2%.
 
Where Do The Calories in Beer Come From? Facts 4-7

4. However, other kind of premium beers such as the Boston Ale or Sam Adams Lager scales at 160 calories. Moreover, beers with high alcohol content, at about 7.8%, such as the New Belgium Trippel has a whopping 215 calories in a minute 12 ounce can.

5. Where in the world do calories in beer come from? The ingredients in making beer are simple, alcohol and malted barley. However, when it comes to calories, it primarily seeds from carbohydrates and alcohol.

6. During the fermentation stage of beer production, yeast breaks down malt and changes it to ethanol or ethyl alcohol. The more lengthy chains that yeast cannot convert remains in the finished product accounts as calories from carbohydrates.

7. Full bodied malt usually top-notches the calorie section. Roughly 60% of the calories come from alcohol while 40% from carbohydrates.
 
Where Do The Calories in Beer Come From? Facts 8-10

8. How about beer belly? How does it come about? Some of the alcohol you may consume would be converted to fat. The liver actually metabolizes alcohol and converts it to acetate and then released in the bloodstream to be directly used as energy. However, the drawback is that the body uses acetate as energy and ignores the fat stores. This in turn causes beer belly to form. The more one consumes alcohol, the bigger belly may bulge.

9. Alcohol is also known to be an appetite enhancer. It is best served before meals to stimulate appetite or served late to cause more hunger pangs. According to studies, alcohol causes a person to eat more as compared to water and other drinks.

10. Primarily, the recommended amount of alcohol to consume in a day should be 1 to 2 drinks. However, it should be accompanied by exercise and diet – not to mention slowing down a bit in alcohol consumption. Now, where do the calories in beer come from? It is from alcohol and carbohydrates however the effects of alcohol are more fattening than the calories it holds.