The cardiovascular effects of alcohol are often debated. One commonly neglected aspect is its caloric content.
Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, compared with fat that contains 9 calories per gram and sugar that contains 4 calories per gram.
As a simple guide, a pint of beer and a glass of wine contain approximately 150-200 calories.
These are the foods that roughly contain 150-200 calories:
- 1 large bag of potato chips
- 1 large sugar-coated doughnut
- 1 slice of pizza
- 1 chicken drumstick
- 1 Tip Top Jelly Tip icecream
- 4 Yorkshire puddings
A simple google search on “alcohol calorie” would yield a variety of useful graphics, e.g. from the BBC. Northland DHB also has a nicely written article on this.
Author: Dr Andrew To