Data from studies in the 1990s and early 2000s suggest that alcohol in moderation may improve cardiovascular health, reports Harvard nutritionist Walter Willett in "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy." However, alcoholic beverages of all sorts have a high calorie content.
Beer
Many different brands of beer are available, each with their own recipe and calorie content. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides nutrition information for a typical beer, carrying 13 calories per fluid oz. This works out to around 150 calories in a can of beer.
Wine
According to the USDA, 1 fluid oz. of wine contains about 25 calories. A standard restaurant glass of wine has around 123 calories.
Liquor
USDA nutrition database information describes one shot of 100-proof whiskey as containing 125 calories, or 80 per fluid ounce. A shot of 80-proof whiskey contains 65 calories per fluid oz.
And The Winner Is
It depends on how you measure it. Ounce per ounce, whiskey contains more calories than beer or wine. However, a typical serving of beer is many times the size of a serving of whiskey. By that measure "a beer" has more calories than "a whiskey." Wine rests comfortably in the middle by both measures.
References
- "USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference"; USDA; 2009
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Walter Willett MD, et al; 2006
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