Healthy Food Choices: Liquor

Alcoholic beverages are typically enjoyed at social events. Learn about alcohol as well as how to avoid those pesky calories in this video.

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Mixers can add high calories
Don't drink on an empty stomach
Drinking can lead to weight gain

About this Author

Alice Merritt is currently the Campus Dietitian at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She has a masters degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in public health with a concentration on nutrition. Alice has worked as a registered dietician for four years, and believes that helping people reach their nutritional goals will lead to a long and healthy life.

ALICE MERRITT: Now I'm going to talk to you about liquor. Liquor is an alcoholic beverage and it's a pretty much considered empty calories and provides very little nutrition value. One light beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, and a shot of 80 proof liquor all have about 100 calories. And remember, you're not getting any nutrition value from these calories. Plus, with liquor, you're also typically mixing it with some high calorie mixer such as soda, sour mix, margarita mix, these things are often high in sugar, and again, increasing the empty calories. It's important to remember about liquor consumption that alcohol is only recommended only in moderation, about one drink a day for women and 2 drinks a day for men. You never want to drink alcohol on an empty stomach because it can lower your blood sugar levels and increase health problems. People that have a high alcohol consumption often have poor nutrition status and increased risks for health problems. Also, remember, when you're adding liquor into the high calorie beverages, you're getting that excess calories and can lead to weight gain and obesity. It's important to remember these things when consuming liquor.

Healthy Food Choices: Liquor Video

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