Best Adult Alcoholic Beverage Choices for Your Waistline –
I have to admit I am not a drinker anymore but I always get questions from clients and readers so I thought I could help with some lower impact adult beverage suggestions. The best choice at a party is to drink fluoride free San Pellegrino out of BPA free glass bottle or some yummy low sugar Kombucha. I know that is not realistic for some people who really like to do it up, I want to offer some not quite so bad alternatives. I don’t want to be a buzz kill but here are some factors to consider:
Alcohol is a poison that overloads the liver with toxins and affects the natural balance of feel good neurotransmitters. It can also spike your blood sugar creating a crash, sending people on a search for carby snacks to boost their mood (think 4th meal). Many people use alcohol as a tension reliever but it actually robs magnesium stores making muscles sore and blood vessels constrict (ie. Hangover). Alcohol increases stress hormones and puts your body into a fight or flight mode adding jiggle to your middle. All this hormone havoc will leave you feeling depleted and much worse than before the holiday happy hour.
Sugar: High glycemic mixers are the biggest culprit in creating holiday belt busting. Plain liquors like vodka, gin and tequila are not so healthy on their own, but it is the cola and juice add-ins that really pump up the paunch. Sugars broken down from alcohol and mixers can also throw off male and female hormones affecting metabolism and fertility.
Diet Drinks: Please avoid diet sodas full of laboratory produced aspartame and Sucralose which are neurotoxins that can cause brain damage. They also contribute to carb cravings, increased insulin resistance and contribute to belly fat stores.
Gluten: A lot of alcohol is distilled from gluten containing grains which can adversely affect people with leaky guts and gluten sensitivity. That means that just about everyone will feel pretty bad and impact their healing progress if they drink too much during the holidays. There is some debate about which alcohol is gluten free because of variations in processing. Wine and liquor from non-gluten grains like vodka, gin, tequila, and rum all seem to have a generally safe consensus from the gluten free community.
Best Adult Alcoholic Beverage Choices for Your Waistline
Here are some lesser evil options for your party night out:
Mojito: is a mix of rum, lime, mint and club soda. Ask the bartender to skip the sugar and add some drops of liquid stevia from your purse to make it taste just right! 120 calories, 5 carbs
Hot Toddy: Is a mix of cinnamon, clove, lemon, nutmeg, black tea, honey and whiskey or bourbon. Again just skip the honey and add some liquid stevia for a low cal drink. 120 Calories, 5 carbs
White or Red Wine Spritzer: 1 cup of red or white wine and 1/2 cup of seltzer. This will your drink is bigger it may help you drink less because you are full of bubbles. 115 calories, 5 carbs
Champagne: can be a good option too because it has no added sugar (FYI: alcohol is like sugar to your body).105 calories 5 carbs
Vodka Soda with Lime: This is a go to drink for my clients when out because it is available everywhere and it is low maintenece. Don’t get tricked with tonic because it is full of sugar and carbs. 100 calories, 5 carbs
NorCal Margarita: is a classic Paleo favorite which includes a shot of good tequila, the juice of 1 lime and splash of seltzer. You can also add some liquid stevia if you want to sweeten it up. 100 calories, 5 carbs
Grass Fed Girl Cosmo: This is like a drink I used to have in my 20’s but unfortunately this blogger doesn’t get out much anymore. It is made with 1 1/2 oz cranberry/raspberry infused vodka, 1 lime juiced, 1 cup seltzer and 5 drops liquid stevia. 100 calories, 5 carbs
Gin Martini: consists of olives, Gin and vermouth. This seems like a reasonable choice because it has nothing sweet to wake the beast within. a 150 calories, 3 carbs
Gluten free (but not glutton free): Cider and beer have a few more calories than liquor drinks but the hormonal impact is really what matters when it comes to alcohol.
Gluten Free Beer: If you do choose to drink beer please find a gluten free option to help avoid major gastrointestinal distress the next day. Redbridge is a brand made from Sorghum and is gluten free (but I am not sure if it has GMO ingredients). Try to look in your local area for a craft gluten free beer to find a great tasting brew. I have heard that Omission beer tastes great too but there is some controversy about how gluten free it really is. Always use your best judgement and put your health first. Gluten free beer is not so light at 170 calories, 12 carbs but at least you won’t get the runs.
Chilling cider: Some of my friends recommended Woodchuck, Ace and JK Scrumpy ciders which are all gluten free. Just look around your area to find which gluten free ciders are available. Some ciders have added gluten ingredients so be sure to read labels. 200 calories, 15 carbs
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RE: Gluten Free Beer — Redbridge is made with sorgum and GMO corn, no doubt about it, it’s on the label (not the words GMO, but it’s certainly not organic 🙂 I know for a fact that AB uses corn in many of their less expensive beer forumlae as well.
Bard’s Tale Beer claims to be 100% sorgum. I will have a few of them if I really need to “fit-in” with a beer drinking group.
Sorghum does have an H somewhere in it! darn spell checker anyway.
My favorite is the Nor-Cal Margarita, I go a bit heavier on the Tequila, no sweetener and fizzy water from the newest fun toy, a Sodastream that carbonates water in a 1/2 liter bottle. An no I don’t own any stock in the company, makes zero calorie, CO2 bubbly water for a lot less than commercially produced and you can use your own filtered water.
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