Grain alcohol, also called ethyl alcohol, is alcohol in its purest form. Distilled twice, the process begins with fermentation of grain. Marketers sell the finished product as a liquor with about 95 percent alcohol content, or 190 proof, and that results in a lot of calories. Brands sold in the United States include Golden Grain, Everclear and Alcohol-95. It's an acquired taste, and it burns going down.
Source of Calories
All of grain alcohol's calories come from the alcohol content. It's void of fat and protein. It contains no fiber, which might otherwise carry the calories out of your body, bypassing the digestive process. Your body receives every calorie you drink. One oz. contains about 22 g of alcohol and 1 g of alcohol equals seven calories. This comes out to about 154 calories per oz., but it can vary from brand to brand. For example, 1 oz. of Everclear Pure Grain Alcohol contains 190 calories.
Metabolizing the Calories
About 20 percent of the calories in a 1-oz. shot of grain alcohol will hit your system quickly, absorbed through your stomach. The rest reaches your blood through your small intestine. From there, your blood carries it to your liver and your liver does the work of metabolizing it. Your liver can only process about 1 oz. an hour. Intoxication occurs when you drink more than that. Your liver can't work through it quickly enough, so every additional ounce you drink has to wait its turn in your blood. With grain alcohol, at a potency of 95 percent alcohol per ounce, the backup can affect your sobriety quickly.
Effect on Weight Loss
Gaining weight is always a matter of taking in more calories per day than you burn off through activity and exercise. A pound of body fat is equal to about 3,500 calories. So if you have three 1-oz. servings of grain alcohol in the course of an evening, you've contributed almost 600 calories to that, or about 17 percent, in just one night. Your body will also convert the alcohol calories to energy first, before other calories you consumed through food. This can sabotage your weight loss efforts, as well.
Tip
Grain alcohol is also the basis for every other alcoholic beverage, including wine, beer and other liquors. It contributes the alcohol to these drinks. However, it makes up a smaller percentage. For example, American whiskeys are usually either 80 or 86 proof, or 40 to 43 percent alcohol. If you choose one of these over grain alcohol, it will lower your caloric intake by more than half.
References
- FitDay: Nutrition Information For Grain Alcohol
- MyFitnessPal: Calories in Everclear Pure Grain Alcohol
- Drinks Mixer; Grain Alcohol; 2010
- Brown University Health Education: Alcohol and Your Body
- UC Berkeley Wellness Letter; Alcohol and the Low-Carb Myth; August 2004
- American Bartenders School: Liquor Dictionary
Member Comments