Nutritious Cocktails – Do They Exist?

Listen, I’m all for an adult bevie especially in social settings or hot summer afternoons. Sometimes people think that ALL fitness professionals are fanatically healthy and would never let a drop of that poison touch their lips. Well, I guess I’m a realistic Fitness Professional because I do enjoy adult beverages, and all food for that matter. But the old adage is what comes into play here – Everything in moderation. That being said, are there really alcoholic drinks that can be healthy for you? My answer is if you look hard enough (which I did), you will find the arguments in favor. Let’s get one thing straight – all alcohol is empty calories with little to NO nutritional value. And in fact alcohol has more calories per gram than carbs or fat. All alcohol also goes straight to the liver for processing and gets stored as fat. But let’s look at the reality – most people will not so readily give up their cocktails even for the sake of health or vanity. There are some ways to make this BETTER though.

Some basic tips when partaking in a Dionysus – type event:

Eat (a well balanced meal, preferably with Protein) prior to attending.

Choose wisely, the higher the alcohol content, the higher the calories.

Beware the Mixers, which are notoriously sugary and may be even higher in calories than the alcohol.

Dilute your drinks with water or seltzer (keep in mind that seltzer DOES have sugar and therefore calories).

Space out your cocktails by imbibing slowly and then enjoying a non-alcoholic /non-sugary drink (or two) between cocktails.

For some ideas for low calories cocktails, check out 5 of Bethenny Frankel’s Cocktails under 220 calories here.

For diet friendly alcoholic choices click here.

And for a tongue in cheek review of the nutritional benefits of various cocktails click here.