Beer Carbohydrates - Anheuser-Busch Sets the Record Straight

http://www.anheuser-busch.com/news/S...rdStraight.htm

Beer Carbohydrates - Anheuser-Busch Sets the Record Straight
Many Popular Carb Diet Books Provide Incorrect Information about Beer

ST. LOUIS (March 19, 2004) - The popularity of recent carbohydrate
diet books has focused Americans' attention on carbohydrates in their food
as never before. Even those who are not on strict low-carb diets consider
some carbs "good" or "bad" based on this advice and make their food choices
accordingly.
The fact is dieters don't have to choose between their low-carb
lifestyle and their favorite light beer. Many of these books contain errors
about beer.

"Beer, and especially light beer, is enjoyed responsibly by many
adults who also happen to be on weight-loss diets of all kinds," said
Douglas Muhleman, Anheuser-Busch vice president brewing operations and
technology. "Beer has zero fat. Light beer also is low in carbs and low in
calories."

One of the common errors repeated in many books has to do with maltose
in beer.* Most beers contain little or no maltose. When barley malt is first
cooked in the brewing process, the resulting liquid contains maltose, which
is a sugar. During fermentation - yeast consumes the maltose, converting it
to alcohol and natural carbonation.

Many popular carbohydrate diet books attempt to assign "good" or "bad"
ratings on food based on its glycemic index alone.* The glycemic index is a
way of measuring how fast and high a specific food increases blood sugar.
When it comes to beer, many diet book authors say beer's glycemic index is
high.* But this is based on the mistaken belief that beer contains high
levels of sugar or maltose. There is no published glycemic index for beer.

Beer is so low in carbs that the glycemic index cannot be practically
measured, according to the University of Sydney researchers.*

There have been humorous references to "beer bellies" in some of the
popular carbohydrate diet books.* 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. Where fat is deposited on the body is mainly determined by
gender and genetics.*

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
healthy lifestyle for 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," said
Muhleman. "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."

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is the leading U.S.
brewer and holds a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading
brewer. In a survey of 10,000 business leaders and securities analysts,
Anheuser-Busch ranked first overall in quality of products and services
among nearly 600 companies researched in FORTUNE magazine's 2004 "America's
Most Admired Companies" listing. The company also is one of the largest
theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of
aluminum cans and is the world's largest recycler of aluminum beverage
containers. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.



--
Ken

"They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some
kind of federal program."

-Bushism's, 2000

"Ken Kubos" wrote in message ...

"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," said
Muhleman. "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."

There's *not* accurate information here, there's hand-waving.

How much carb is left after fermentation? Of course it's less than
before fermentation, but how *much*? How many carbs in which beers?

Bread is fermented too, but there's still carbs left in it after it's
baked... it's not low-carb just cause the yeast munched on it before I
did, depends on how much carb is *left* when it gets to me that
matters.

Without *that* information, which the alcohol industry has been loathe
to provide, beer can't fit even occassionally into a low-carb diet.

It *can* fit into a planned cheat day, but then it's not fitting into
a low-carb diet.

All these manufacturers are being all "concerned" about low-carb now
that it's a big old fad... why the hell can't they just *provide* the
numbers we want and let us decide if it fits in our plan? And why the
hell haven't they been willing to do this for the last few years
either, but now it's suddenly a big old issue cause they're losing
business?

Hand-waving marketing without numbers isn't the slightest bit useful.
And it's not "setting the record straight" - it's just bull****ting.

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 20:08:42 -0600, "Ken Kubos" wrote:

http://www.anheuser-busch.com/news/S...rdStraight.htm

"we are certainly not saying that drinking beer will cause you to lose weight"

Darn, I was hoping that 6 or 12 beers a day was the magic weight loss
formula.

Many years of alcoholism are the reason I am fat today.
My drink of choice was usually beer.

If people want to think that beer or any alcoholic beverage for that matter
actually belong as a regular part of a healthy weight-loss diet, they are
only fooling themselves.

Mark.

"Ken Kubos" wrote in message
...
http://www.anheuser-busch.com/news/S...rdStraight.htm

Beer Carbohydrates - Anheuser-Busch Sets the Record Straight
Many Popular Carb Diet Books Provide Incorrect Information about
Beer

ST. LOUIS (March 19, 2004) - The popularity of recent carbohydrate
diet books has focused Americans' attention on carbohydrates in their food
as never before. Even those who are not on strict low-carb diets consider
some carbs "good" or "bad" based on this advice and make their food
choices
accordingly.
The fact is dieters don't have to choose between their low-carb
lifestyle and their favorite light beer. Many of these books contain
errors
about beer.

"Beer, and especially light beer, is enjoyed responsibly by many
adults who also happen to be on weight-loss diets of all kinds," said
Douglas Muhleman, Anheuser-Busch vice president brewing operations and
technology. "Beer has zero fat. Light beer also is low in carbs and low in
calories."

One of the common errors repeated in many books has to do with
maltose
in beer.* Most beers contain little or no maltose. When barley malt is
first
cooked in the brewing process, the resulting liquid contains maltose,
which
is a sugar. During fermentation - yeast consumes the maltose, converting
it
to alcohol and natural carbonation.

Many popular carbohydrate diet books attempt to assign "good" or
"bad"
ratings on food based on its glycemic index alone.* The glycemic index is
a
way of measuring how fast and high a specific food increases blood sugar.
When it comes to beer, many diet book authors say beer's glycemic index is
high.* But this is based on the mistaken belief that beer contains high
levels of sugar or maltose. There is no published glycemic index for beer.

Beer is so low in carbs that the glycemic index cannot be
practically
measured, according to the University of Sydney researchers.*

There have been humorous references to "beer bellies" in some of the
popular carbohydrate diet books.* 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. Where fat is deposited on the body is mainly determined
by
gender and genetics.*

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
healthy lifestyle for 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,"
said
Muhleman. "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."

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is the leading U.S.
brewer and holds a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading
brewer. In a survey of 10,000 business leaders and securities analysts,
Anheuser-Busch ranked first overall in quality of products and services
among nearly 600 companies researched in FORTUNE magazine's 2004
"America's
Most Admired Companies" listing. The company also is one of the largest
theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of
aluminum cans and is the world's largest recycler of aluminum beverage
containers. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.



--
Ken

"They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's
some
kind of federal program."

-Bushism's, 2000

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 08:15:44 +0000, Marcusj wrote:
Many years of alcoholism are the reason I am fat today.

Many years of self-indulgent indolence are the reason I was fat last year.
Today, I'd call myself "chubby". JC would call me a fat ****, in response
to which I would wink, and raise my frothy stein for another toast.


My drink of choice was usually beer.

My drinks of choice were beer and Scotch. Mostly beer.


If people want to think that beer or any alcoholic beverage for that
matter actually belong as a regular part of a healthy weight-loss diet,
they are only fooling themselves.

All the studies I've seen indicate positive net health benefits for daily
moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. Studies that distinguish
have found, at best, weak indications of relatively higher benefits from
any particular tipple.

I've lost fifty pounds drinking somewhat-more-than-moderate quantities of
cheap red wine. As I have reached my goal weight (I can buy pants off the
rack and I'm certin I can maintain this weight while resuming most of my
indolent self indulgence) I'm having a nightly sake or beer. They have
not negatively affected my weight.

Ergo, when _I_ think that red wine, beer, my vast collection of single
malt Scotch, and the occasional digestif grappa (or, for that matter,
any equivalent in unsweetened alcoholic beverage) "belong as a regular
part of a healthy weight-loss diet", I reach that conclusion based on
solid repeatable soi-disant "scientific" evidence, both personally and
professionally gathered. To the extent that you believe otherwise _for
others_ YOU are "fooling yourself".


I'm still losing, which pleases me. While beer (mmmmm, Pilsner) was an
important part of my self-indulgent lifestyle, I have other priorities.
I'll be experimenting with higher carb veggies, fruit, and the occasional
slice of bread to discover how much of what I can eat without triggering
the brutal unfocused food cravings that made me what I was last year.

Martin (215/162/165 since 4/2003)
--
Martin Golding Salad isn't _food_, salad is what food _eats_.
KotLQ KotSM SMTC #2 member PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals)

People can lose weight on a diet of chocolate cake. That doesn't make it
healthy.
People can lose weight on a diet of 100% alcohol. Plenty of people do it,
but they are not exactly the epitome of health.

If people are trying to lose weight, alcohol doesn't do anything but replace
beneficial calories.
If you are indeed consuming a very small quantity of alcohol per day, then
you are making a choice of adding those useless calories to your diet, and
that is part of your calorie intake.

Most of the people posting here about alcohol are not having 70-100 calories
of alcohol per day, they are talking about getting ****faced drunk and then
saying "but that is ok on a low-carb diet". If they are indeed losing
weight while consuming the several hundred (or thousand or more) calories of
alcohol, then they are replacing healthful food intake with useless
calories.

It's all about choices. People get ****faced drunk and then say "but
alcohol is fine on a low-carb diet, and besides it is good for your health".
There are a lot of things people can do in life that are beneficial to
health. I doubt that more than a tiny fraction of the people who "drink for
health" are actually consuming the tiny amount that studies show can have
negligible health benefits as opposed to drinking quantities that are well
proven to be detrimental to health.

Mark.


"Martin Golding" wrote in message
news

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 08:15:44 +0000, Marcusj wrote:
Many years of alcoholism are the reason I am fat today.

Many years of self-indulgent indolence are the reason I was fat last year.
Today, I'd call myself "chubby". JC would call me a fat ****, in response
to which I would wink, and raise my frothy stein for another toast.


My drink of choice was usually beer.

My drinks of choice were beer and Scotch. Mostly beer.


If people want to think that beer or any alcoholic beverage for that
matter actually belong as a regular part of a healthy weight-loss diet,
they are only fooling themselves.

All the studies I've seen indicate positive net health benefits for daily
moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. Studies that distinguish
have found, at best, weak indications of relatively higher benefits from
any particular tipple.

I've lost fifty pounds drinking somewhat-more-than-moderate quantities of
cheap red wine. As I have reached my goal weight (I can buy pants off the
rack and I'm certin I can maintain this weight while resuming most of my
indolent self indulgence) I'm having a nightly sake or beer. They have
not negatively affected my weight.

Ergo, when _I_ think that red wine, beer, my vast collection of single
malt Scotch, and the occasional digestif grappa (or, for that matter,
any equivalent in unsweetened alcoholic beverage) "belong as a regular
part of a healthy weight-loss diet", I reach that conclusion based on
solid repeatable soi-disant "scientific" evidence, both personally and
professionally gathered. To the extent that you believe otherwise _for
others_ YOU are "fooling yourself".


I'm still losing, which pleases me. While beer (mmmmm, Pilsner) was an
important part of my self-indulgent lifestyle, I have other priorities.
I'll be experimenting with higher carb veggies, fruit, and the occasional
slice of bread to discover how much of what I can eat without triggering
the brutal unfocused food cravings that made me what I was last year.

Martin (215/162/165 since 4/2003)
--
Martin Golding Salad isn't _food_, salad is what food _eats_.
KotLQ KotSM SMTC #2 member PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals)

Without *that* information, which the alcohol industry has been loathe
to provide, beer can't fit even occassionally into a low-carb diet.

The alcohol industry has NOTHING to do with the fact that their are no
carbohydrate listings on beer, wine or booze.

The federal government prohibits it. Get your facts straight.

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 10:40:41 +0000, Marcusj wrote:
If people are trying to lose weight, alcohol doesn't do anything but
replace beneficial calories.

The actual evidence is much against you. I'd be happy to entertain
evidence that agreed with you, if you were aware of any.


If you are indeed consuming a very small quantity of alcohol per day, then
you are making a choice of adding those useless calories to your diet, and
that is part of your calorie intake.

You use "useless" as an adjective here as if you mean something by it.
Given that it is _absolutely certain_ that moderate consumption of
alcohol is associated with improved health for most people, in what
sense do YOU believe that you are using "useless" in that sentence?
(How does one distinguish beneficial foods containing useful calories
from beneficial foods containing useless calories, and can detailed
chemical analysis help?)


Most of the people posting here about alcohol are not having 70-100
calories of alcohol per day,

70-100 calories of is well under the certainly beneficial limit, and
at least for red wine, under the certainly beneficial minimum.


they are talking about getting ****faced

Not one post in the thread to which you responded talked about anything
of the sort, nor have I noticed any such post in any other thread. If you
DO have some particular post or thread in mind, perhaps you should
consider attaching your answer to that post in a reply to _that_ post. You
might also consider applying your general knowledge, rather than your own
specific circumstances, before making claims about best practices for
other people.


It is not unreasonable, given your stated background, that you would not
be able to adopt a balanced view on the subject. It is unfortunate that
you don't seem to be able to recognize that.

Martin (215/162/165 since 4/2003)
--
Martin Golding | Chop fast, bleed slow,
DoD #236 DBS #1 MAB #2 UB #3 SMTC #3 KotLQ KotSM | and have another beer.

"Martin Golding" wrote in message
news

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 10:40:41 +0000, Marcusj wrote:
If people are trying to lose weight, alcohol doesn't do anything but
replace beneficial calories.

The actual evidence is much against you. I'd be happy to entertain
evidence that agreed with you, if you were aware of any.


You have evidence that consumption of alcohol is beneficial to weight loss?
Where is it?

You feel that consuming several hundred (thousand) calories of alcohol per
day while trying to lose weight is not either
1 - Replacing other calories that would be more healthful
or
2 - Slowing weight loss because useless calories are being consumed.

Where is the evidence that alcohol is somehow beneficial to a low-carb diet?


Most of the people posting here about alcohol are not having 70-100
calories of alcohol per day,

70-100 calories of is well under the certainly beneficial limit, and
at least for red wine, under the certainly beneficial minimum.


"Certainly beneficial minimum"; what kind of nonsense is that?
Non-alcoholic grape beverages have the same healthful benefits as red wine
does; alcohol has nothing to do with it. There are proven health benefits
to taking one 81mg aspirin per day, that is hardly a reason to down a dozen.


they are talking about getting ****faced

Not one post in the thread to which you responded talked about anything
of the sort, nor have I noticed any such post in any other thread. If you
DO have some particular post or thread in mind, perhaps you should
consider attaching your answer to that post in a reply to _that_ post. You
might also consider applying your general knowledge, rather than your own
specific circumstances, before making claims about best practices for
other people.


In your own post in this very same thread you stated,
"I've lost fifty pounds drinking somewhat-more-than-moderate quantities of
cheap red wine."
And yet you argue that you are not replacing more healthful foods with
alcohol. "Somewhat-more-than-moderate" sounds ****faced to me, and the fact
that you are using "cheap red wine" shows that you are doing it to get
****faced and not for "health benefits".

Anyway, enough of this nonsense. Enjoy your more-than-moderate cheap red
wine consumption and keep telling yourself that it is good for your health.
Hell, drink twice as much, that makes it twice as good for you!

Mark.

"Martin Golding" wrote in message
news

It is not unreasonable, given your stated background, that you would not
be able to adopt a balanced view on the subject. It is unfortunate that
you don't seem to be able to recognize that.


Martin,

Over 50% of the posts you have made in this newsgroup are about alcohol, or
you manage to bring alcohol into the discussion even when that is not the
topic.
You talk about having a 4-tap kegger in your frig at all times, about
drinking cheap red wine, about drinking 1/2 or more of a bottle of wine per
day while at the same time downing sour mash whiskey, various beers, etc.

Yet I'm the one with no balanced view on the subject. Interesting.
Enjoy your alcohol, and keep telling yourself it is healthy and belongs as a
major part of a low-carb diet.

Mark.