Many Popular Carb Diet Books Provide
Incorrect
Information About Beer
The popularity of recent carbohydrate diet books has focused
Americans’ attention on carbohydrates in their food like
never before. Even those who are not on strict carb diets
consider some carbs “good” or “bad” based on this
advice and make their food choices accordingly.
Unfortunately, many of these books contain errors about
beer, which are focused in three areas:
Error 1: Maltose in beer
Error 2: Glycemic index of beer
Error 3: ‘Beer belly’
Error 1: Maltose in beer
Some recent, popular carbohydrate diet books incorrectly
claim that beer has a high glycemic index. They base this on
the incorrect belief that beer is high in sugar, or
particularly maltose.(1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7)
Beer is made, in part, with malted barley. When the barley
malt is first cooked in the brewing process, the resulting
liquid contains maltose, which is a sugar. During
fermentation, however, yeast consumes the maltose,
converting it to alcohol and natural carbonation.
Popular beers in fact contain little or no maltose or any
other simple sugars.(8,
9,
10,
11)
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Error 2: Glycemic index of beer
The science of nutrition, and in particular carbohydrate
metabolism, is complicated and dynamic. Many popular
carbohydrate diet books attempt to simplify and popularize
these difficult concepts by calling food “good” or
“bad” based on its “glycemic index” alone.(1,
2, 5,
6,)
The glycemic index is a way of measuring how fast and high a
specific food increases blood sugar.(26,
27) Although there
are two similar methods for measuring glycemic index, there
is no consensus among doctors or nutritionists that glycemic
index alone is a reliable way to choose foods for weight
loss or any other diet.(12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22)
When it comes to beer, many diet book authors say beer’s
glycemic index is high.(1,
2,
3, 5,
6,
7) But this is based
on the mistaken belief that beer contains high levels of
sugar or maltose, which we know is incorrect.(8,
9,
10,
11)
So, what is the correct glycemic index of beer?
At this point, it is unclear. Some sources say beer contains
too few carbs to be tested for glycemic index.(23,
24)
Measuring the glycemic index of a food generally requires
the food be consumed in about a 15-minute time period and in
quantities that deliver 50 grams of carbohydrates. Then, the
blood sugar is measured over time and the results are
compared to the blood sugar response of a standard food,
such as glucose or white bread.(13, 26,
27)
The problem with testing beer this way is that all beers are
relatively low in carbs.(23,
24) It would require a person
to drink, for example, 7.5 light beers within 15 minutes to
consume the 50 grams necessary to measure the resulting
blood sugar. That is not responsible consumption of beer by
adults.
Beer’s glycemic “value” is very low.
Many carb diet books focus on glycemic index. But several
experts warn against using glycemic index alone when
choosing foods because it does not account for serving size,
the effect of eating different foods together in one meal,
which is how most people eat, or other factors.(12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22)
For this reason, some experts suggest that a more important
measure is the “glycemic load,” which adjusts glycemic
index for serving size. (Multiply glycemic index by the
number of carbs per serving and divide by 100.) Glycemic
load provides a better idea of how a single serving has an
impact on blood sugar.(12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22)
If you select your food based on glycemic index (GI) alone,
then you would have little guilt eating chocolate cake,
while watermelon would be forbidden. But when you account
for carbohydrates per serving, watermelon’s glycemic load
(GL) is much lower, and much preferred, than the chocolate
cake.
Beer’s glycemic index has not been published.(23,
24, 25)
However, even if beer’s glycemic index were determined to
be 70, the glycemic load for Bud Light, for example, would
be 4.6. Less than 10 is considered low.(23,
24)
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Error 3: ‘Beer belly’
There have long been humorous references to “beer
bellies” on some people who carry extra weight around
their midsection. Two carbohydrate diet books (“South
Beach Diet” and “Suzanne Somers’ Fast and Easy”)
also suggest beer specifically encourages fat deposit in
this area.(1,
2)
The truth is, there is no such thing as a “beer” belly.
Excess fat in any part of the body is caused by too many
calories from any source and not enough exercise, according
to published academic sources. If calories consumed exceed
calories burned, fat will result.(28,
29,
30,
31)
Where fat is deposited on the body is mainly determined by
gender and genetics, not by the type of food you eat.(29,
31,
32,
33,
34)
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Beer, and especially light beer, is enjoyed responsibly by
many adults who also happen to be on weight-loss diets of
all kinds. Beer has zero fat. (10) Most light beers are low in
carbs and low in calories.
No matter what kind of diet – low-carb, low-fat,
low-calorie – is chosen, most doctors agree that the keys
to weight loss are moderate food and beverage intake and
regular exercise. Beer can be part of that kind of lifestyle
for many adults.
We are not endorsing any particular diet or diet book, and
we are certainly not saying that drinking beer will cause
you to lose weight. Rather, we are providing accurate
information for adults to determine what products can fit
within their food and beverage choices.
We want any consumption of our beers to be by adults and to
be responsible.
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