anaggie

Just wondering if drinking "wheat" beer can actually be good for you??

Why I ask?

I have actually started to go to a martial arts class where I can relieve my stress and I get a damn good cardio workout for approx 1.5hrs every Tues/Thurs/Sat. Now, I have been losing some weight over the past three months and am watching what goes down the tube. My ultimate goal would be to practice without my shirt on -- washboard stomach kind of deal.

I love beer and not going to stop drinking it, and I recently switched to wheat beers for the flavor. My days of drinking 12beers in one sitting are way past gone. I am talking 2-3 beers at one shot.

But the fact that it is made for wheat should be better for you, right?

missydarlin

why would wheat be any better or worse for you than barley?

iapetus

Yeah, I tend to agree with missydarlin. It tastes great and is refreshing on a hot day, but I wouldn't think that drinking wheat beer is in any way better for you than "regular" beer.


But, I feel your pain. I have no intention to quit enjoying beer, despite the fact that it probably slows me down (by adding weight) on the bike.

dartagnan

Most wheats are going to be a lot heavier in carbs than your standard macro brews (Bud, Miller, Coors), so you'll be drinking a lot more calories.

Ingredients don't particularly matter for health of beers. Your best bet is to drink 1-2 of a beer you really enjoy.

greggwiggins

Beer is fermented grain; whether it's wheat or barley or rice or corn, (or sorghum or any of dozens of other grains used around the world and through history) the alcohol and calorie content depends on the recipe, not the grain used. For example, a German weizenbock like Schneider Aventinus is anything but light beer.

Personally, I like wheat beers best in hot weather. But that's a subjective decision and other people like other styles or enjoy wheat beers at other times. Drink what you enjoy. Find a good beer bar and feel free to experiment.

I am not a doctor, I am a journalist, but there are medical studies showing that moderate consumption of beer has health benefits. Like with many other things, it's overuse that makes it bad for you. So find a beer you enjoy the taste of, not a beer that you use as an alcohol delivery system, and just have one or two.

greggwiggins

Most 'craft' beers will be heavier in carbs regardless of what grain is used -- that's why they have more taste.

Howie721

ha, the day i have 1 or 2 in a sitting..

nkedel

Carbs are not necessarily bad, any way, as long as you are not diabetic.

For those who care about them, though, even a fairly heavy craft beer will have vastly fewer grams of carbohydrate than a soda, and more complex carbs (and thus a lower glycemic index, for those who care) to begin with - the simple sugars are the ones that convert to alcohol most easily by the yeast

Getting back to the original question, I reject the basic premise of the question - "just as bad as regular beer" ... beer isn't bad for you unless you drink in excess or are allergic to it. While it's got a relatively high number of calories, it's a relatively healthy form to take them in compared to a lot of things Americans consume.

dartagnan

Just watch out for stuff like Dogfish Head 120 day IPA. ~450 calories per 12 oz bottle. Hellooooo high alcohol content.

nkedel

Yowza, that's a meal in a bottle. OTOH, that's only two cans of higher sugar soda (ie Sunkist and Mountain Dew IIRC are about 220 calories per can) and unlike the soda, the beer has some redeeming nutritional value.

BiziBB

On my blog, I mentioned a while back the readgreen promotion by zinio; amongst the free yearly subscriptions, there is a beer mag or two - if that helps.

I thought that a love (and consumption) of beer and flat abs would have been mutually exclusive for anyone out of their twenties.
Real beer. Lots and lots of exercise. More beer.
A virtuous cycle.

bensyd

When you hit that 12% hill do you regret last night's beers

dingo

Amen, and cheers.

HereAndThereSC

Sure... But who drinks a whole 6-pack of Dogfish 120 in one sitting?

HTSC

BamaVol

I came across a gluten-free beer the other day. Couldn't be a wheat beer, I suppose. Anyone tried one?