It's now 2016 and many New Year's resolutions have been made.
Like many, perhaps you have vowed to lose the extra kilos that
crept on after indulging in lots of food, drink and maybe a few too
many beers over the Christmas period.
You may be wondering how that happened (again!), especially if
you were drinking low-carb, sugar-free beers and not the heavy
stuff. After all, a recent marketing campaign 'Beer the
beautiful truth' promoted a claim that 'your favourite
beers are on average 99.9% sugar free'. Perhaps beer isn't so
much to blame?
Sorry, but it's not just sugar or carbohydrate that's a concern.
Alcohol content counts too. At a rate of 29 kilojoules a gram,
alcohol contributes between 375kJ and 550kJ to every stubbie. So if
you've had a few over the festive season, of course you'll stack on
the kilos.
Lion, Australia's largest brewer, funded 'Beer the beautiful
truth' and the Foundation for Alcohol Research &
Evaluation (FARE) has warned Australians not to be fooled by its
claims.
FARE says Lion used language such as "low calorie", "low carb",
"99.9% sugar free" and "preservative free" to (falsely) imply their
products are good for you. Simply providing health claims doesn't
make a product nutritious. After all, beer still hasn't made it
into the food pyramid.
In retaliation to 'Beer the beautiful truth' FARE has
created its own online campaign entitled 'Beer the obvious
truth' to inform consumers about the real facts of
alcohol.
The National Guidelines for alcohol consumption recommend that
for healthy men and women, drinking less than two standard drinks
on any day reduces your risk of harm.
Drink Responsibly.
If you or someone you know needs support and treatment to reduce
alcohol intake, contact your doctor, your local community health
centre or an alcohol or other drug helpline (in Queensland, call
1800 177 833).
To learn more about why beer is not a healthy choice, visit
FARE's campaign website here.