Christmas parties, end of year gatherings, bottomless brunches... There's no doubt at this time of year our alcohol intake is higher than usual. This is all well and good but for those of you that who are working towards a health or weight goal but would still like enjoy a cold beer or a glass of wine - this is the post for you.

Alcohol in moderation can be a part of a healthy well-balanced lifestyle. It is known (and you know that we have to mention this) when we overindulge in alcohol it can leave us feeling sleep deprived, groggy or flat and when we feel like this, the last thing on our mind is eating healthily and staying active.

Below we have compared a list of lower alcohol wines and lower carb beers as well as a list of non-alcoholic options so you can sashay around the city this summer with options!

Lower carb beers

Firstly let's look at the most popular lower carb beers that are currently on the market. Lower carb beers usually have the same amount of alcohol in it but contain less carbohydrate due to an extended brewing process that breaks down the natural sugars lingering in the beer reducing the total carbohydrates and the total calories in the beer, making it a lower sugar and lower calorie alternative to your regular beer.

Speights Summit Ultra Lower Carb Lager:

• Price= $23/12 pack

• Calories per serve= 87cal

• Carbohydrates per serve= 1.5g

• Sugars per serve= 0.3g

• Alcohol by volume= 4.2%

• Comparison= 75% less carbs than the average carb content of leading NZ beer brands

Pure Blonde:

• Price= $17.99/12 pack

• Calories per serve= 92 cal

• Carbohydrates per serve= 2g

• Sugars per serve= <1g

• Alcohol by volume= 3%

• Comparison= 80% less carbs than the average carb content of leading NZ beer brands and 50% less calories than wine per ml

DB Export 33:

• Price= $20/12 pack

• Calories per serve= 107

• Carbohydrates per serve= 5g

• Sugars per serve= <1g

• Alcohol by volume= 4.6%

• Comparison= 30% less carbohydrate than DB Export Gold

Heineken Light:

• Price= $13/6 pack

• Calories per serve= 73 cal

• Carbohydrates per serve= 6.3g

• Sugars per serve= <1g

• Alcohol by volume= 2.5% (the lowest in alcohol)

• Comparison= Approx half the calories and half the carbohydrates of regular heineken

Lower alcohol wines

Now let's look at the most popular lower alcohol wines. Lower alcohol wines usually have the same amount of carbohydrates, but lower levels of alcohol and therefore lower levels of calories as alcohol has 7 calories per gram. They achieve this via different techniques including harvesting the grapes earlier to ensure lower sugar levels in the grape, resulting in lower alcohol levels during fermentation.

On average these wines have 25%-30% less alcohol compared to the standard Sauvignon blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Rose and Riesling.

Peter Yealands Light Alcohol Sauvignon Blanc

• Price= $14.99

• Alcohol by volume= 9.5%

Villa Maria Private Bin Light Pinot Gris

• Price= $16.99

• Alcohol by volume= 9%

Forrest Wines: The Doctors Pinot Noir

• Price= $25

• Alcohol by volume= 9.5%

Forrest Wines: The Doctors Rose

• Price= $19.99

• Alcohol by volume= 9.5%

Forrest Wines: The doctors riesling

• Price= $19.99

• Alcohol by volume= 8.5%

Non-alcoholic options

For those of you who want to stay away from alcohol altogether but still want to be able to enjoy a beverage while out and about, without having to sip on plain water or overload on sugar here are our go to alcohol free low in sugar drink recommendations.

Kombucha

• Comes in loads of different flavours in cute cans or bottles

• Low in sugar

• Full of good gut bugs

• Great alternative to alcohol or fizzy drinks

• Phoebe’s favourite brands are Remedy and Mothers Brew Kitchen but there are loads of different kombucha brands on the market  

Vista

• Comes in loads of different flavours and cute little cans

• Zero sugar

• Great alternative to alcohol or fizzy drinks!

Hopt Soda

• Comes in loads of different flavours with very cool packaging

• Contains, less than half the sugar of leading regular soft drinks

• Great alternative to alcohol or fizzy drinks!

Heineken Zero

• 0% alcohol

• Tastes like regular beer

• Check out this article written in the herald on no-alcohol beer

• If you put it in a glass you can avoid the “why aren't you drinking” speal

We hope this range of lower carb, lower alcohol and alcohol free drink options help you to enjoy the silly season that little bit more!

From the Feel Fresh Team!

This blog was especially created for our friends at southern cross while we help them out on there health journey.