How Healthy is your Beer?

It's a Friday night, and you grab a beer out of the fridge. Then another, and another, and another for the next few hours. The last thing your probably thinking about is how healthy that beer really is, and exactly how many calories you are drinking. With some beers ranging around 200 calories, it's not hard to drink about half of your daily calorie intake in just one night. So with spring break coming up, it's helpful to know which beers are actually healthier for you. The types of beers that wont drastically change your weight on the scale, particularly if you will be hanging out all day at the beach. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to drink, without feeling the guilt of needing to go to the gym? The amount of calories your drinking is directly linked to how many beers you are drinking per night. All beers found have their carb and calorie intake based on one 12-ounce beer. If you're not too concerned about the taste, why not go for the healthier version? To start out with, one of the lowest calorie beers available almost everywhere in the United States, is Miller Genuine Draft Light, otherwise known as MGD 64. It has, as you may have guessed, 64 calories. This is almost 50 calories less than other regular beers. It also only has 2.4 carbs per bottle, so a very healthy alternative compared to a drink such as Heineken Premium Light with 99 calories and 6.8 carbs. Worldbeerdirectory.com rated MGD 64 as 76/100. This is an average number for all the light beers that were rated. Two beers that are both 95 calories are Amstel Light and Michelob Ultra. Although they have the same amount of calories, Amstel Light has about twice as many carbs. Amstel has about 5 carbs, while Michelob Ultra has only 2.6 carbs, the second lowest amount on our list. Amstel Light was rated as 71/100, and Michelob ultra was rated 77/100. According to the rating, Michelob Ultra is a healthier alternative that tastes better. Coming in next is Miller Lite at 96 calories, and it has about 3.2 carbs. It was rated as 76/100, so it seems that both types of Miller beer taste about the same, except Miller Lite has an added 32 calories over the MGD 64. The next beer is very common in Wisconsin. It is Milwaukee's Best Light, which contains 98 calories, and 3.2 carbs. This is a great beer to grab when you're undecided about what exactly they will have at the liquor store, or even the conveniently close Kwik Trip. It was rated at 74/100, meaning taste wise it is around the same as all the other light beers. For those going to Florida for their spring break destinations, it may be useful to know that one of the lower calorie beers is brewed by the Florida Beer Company. This beer is Key West Pilsner Light beer, and contains only 82 calories. It has 4 carbs, and is a great choice if you feel like trying a new and healthier alternative while on vacation. One of the healthiest beers out there though, coming in at only 58 calories, is Sharp's non-alcoholic beer. This is perfect for individuals who like the taste of beer, but don't want the alcohol part, and this is also a great beer for the liver. It leads the rankings in healthiest beer, but not in alcohol beer rankings. So whether you only drink once in awhile, or almost every weekend, it may be a smarter choice to choose a beer that is healthier. With obesity on the rise, and many becoming concerned about what they are eating and drinking, it may be an easy switch to just change the beer you normally drink to the light version. It will taste almost the same, and will leave you feeling healthier, and your belly flatter.