Drink Lots Of Water And Electrolytes
Alcohol is dehydrating, and even more so when youre in ketosis without the extra glycogen, your body isnt storying as much water.
This means you should be extra vigilant with both your water and electrolytes before and after drinking. Theres a good reason hangovers on keto are so notorious!
And if you need something to discourage you from going overboard on the drinks, remember: getting kicked out of ketosis can sometimes feel like having a hangover. Combine that with an actual hangover and youve got a recipe for disaster.
What Is The Healthiest Alcoholic Drink
While no alcoholic drinks can be said to be healthy, some are worse than others.
Avoid sugary concoctions, spirits mixed with soda, juice, or sweet liqueurs. Wine and beer have carbohydrates, so the quantity must be closely monitored to remain in a ketogenic state.
It goes without saying that moderation is key. Any alcohol consumed in excess will have negative health effects.
To enjoy alcohol responsibly, know your limit and stick to a low-carb alcoholic beverage that will preserve your ketogenic state.
Keto Diet And Alcohol: Do They Mix
If you love happy hour, youll be pleased to know that you can enjoy alcohol in moderation on the keto diet. There are plenty of low-carb alcoholic drinks that you can choose, so that you can stay on plan.
That said, moderation is key. Make sure to keep your health and weight-loss goals in mind when deciding how much to drink or how often. Drinking alcohol to excess wont help you lose weight any faster!
Here are some quick tips about drinking alcohol on the keto diet.
- Occasional drinking can be compatible with the keto diet.
- Limit yourself to a maximum of one or two low-carb drinks.
- Most liquors contain zero net carbs but watch out for sugary mixers and sodas.
- Wine is generally low-carb, but sweet dessert wines have a lot of sugar and carbs.
- Beer usually has gluten and too many carbs for the keto diet, but some super-light beers are okay.
Read on to learn more about drinking alcohol while on the keto diet, how alcohol can affect ketosis, how alcohol can slow fat burn and weight loss, and the best and worst drinks to have on the keto diet.
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Best Wines For A Keto Diet Available From Drinkwell
DrinkWell offers a variety of no and low carbohydrate alternatives, with a couple of sparkling wine options. Try our Vilarnau Sparkling Brut Rose, containing just 3.7g of carbohydrates, 28 calories and zero alcohol per 125ml.
We also stock the largest selection of keto-friendly wines in the UK. Choose from a wide range of red wines, white wines, rose wines and sparkling wines, all with low carbohydrates and ideal for a keto diet. If youre not sure what youre looking for, try our Discovery Case, containing 6 delicious low-carbohydrate, keto-friendly wines.
- A Bit of Everything
Does Alcohol Affect Ketosis Positively
If youve ever heard the phrase drinking increases ketosis, youre only getting half the story.
A small study from 1970 illustrated how alcohol consumption and a high-fat diet increased ketonuria aka more ketones were found in the volunteers urine. Heres the scientific explanation: Researchers theorized the ketonuria was caused by a delayed change in intermediary metabolism from alcohol-induced glycogen depletion.
The bottom line: Drinking alcohol on the keto diet might result in a quick burst of ketone activity, but your liver will eventually start to use alcohol for energy instead of fat. That means less fat-burning over time.
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A Few Caveats About Keto Wine
While you can certainly drink alcohol on a keto diet, you may want to reconsider doing so for the following reasons:
- The effects of alcohol makes it easier to overeat and drink more. The higher the alcohol content, the more likely you are to sabotage ketosis.
- Alcohol consumption switches off your fat-burning potential. Your body prioritizes getting the alcohol out of your system overusing your fat for energy. This may slow down or even stall weight loss and ketone production.
- You may have a lower alcohol tolerance. There are many anecdotal reports of lower tolerance and worse hangovers when youre running off ketones.
Even though its fine to weave a drink into your weekly keto meal plan here and there especially a glass of low-carb wine it shouldnt be something you do every day. Especially if weight loss is your goal.
What Has More Carbs Red Or White Wine
On average, red and white wines have carbohydrate contents in the 3-4g range. However, some white wines have lower carbs as compared to red wines. Thus, more whites are keto-friendly than some reds.
Dry white wines also have low carb content and a fruity taste, making them a better alternative to sweet wines with high carb content.
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Wine Guidelines To Accommodate The Keto Diet
One of the best things about wine is that most have very little or even no, carbs. Because carbs and sugar are the bad guy on the keto diet, many people probably ask which wines they can drink if they want to follow that diet.
Not all are keto friendly, of course, but there are some safe ones. Keep reading to find out which wines to buy and which ones you should avoid if youre trying to reduce your carbohydrate intake for health or weight loss.
1. Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet is a higher fat, low carb diet that can bring with it many health benefits like improved health, lowered blood sugar levels, and fat loss. There are also benefits against Alzheimers disease, cancer, epilepsy, and diabetes. The diet involves the participant replacing carbs in the diet with fat. The reduction in carbohydrates puts the participants body into ketosis, a metabolic state that allows the body to grow more efficient at burning fat for energy rather than carbs.
2. Ideal Keto Wines
The ideal keto-compliant wine will have low alcohol, preferably 13.5 percent ABV or less, and very little or no residual sugar. The dryer the wine is, the more likely it is acceptable for the keto diet.
3. Residual Sugar
4. Bad News for Wine Lovers on Keto
5. Good News for Wine Lovers on Keto
The great news is that there are tons of wines that will be suitable for someone following the keto diet, as long as moderation is key, of course. Here are a few tips to help a wine lover stick to the keto plan:
A Look At The Ketogenic Diet
In recent years, carb has become a dirty word! We blame carbohydrates for a multitude of sins, but lets get real: they are one of the three main classes of foods , and they are a source of energy. Now, heres where carbs get a bad rap: they are primarily sugar and starches that the body breaks down into glucose or simple sugar. Your body burns this as fuel, and excess is stored as fat.
Keto forces your body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. To do this, your body your liver specifically has to create ketone bodies, a type of fuel made from stored fat.
Getting to a state of ketosis, the metabolic state in which the body starts to use fat as fuel, means you need to drastically limit your carbohydrates , watch your protein intake, and boost the number of healthy fats you consume.
Now fat is another class of food that weve grown to fear. But with the keto diet, you need to make sure to get enough high-quality fats into your diet. This is the fuel your body will burn. In a 2000 calorie diet, for example, a breakdown may look like:
- 165 grams of fat
- 75 grams of protein
- 40 grams of carbohydrates
Now, fruits and vegetables have lots of carbs. Followers of the keto diet restrict themselves to a certain amount and stick to a small portion of fruit, especially berries, and leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and Swiss chard, as well as onions, garlic, mushrooms, cucumbers, celery, summer squash, asparagus, brussels sprouts, and broccoli.
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Alcohol On The Keto Diet
Along with carbs, protein, and fat, alcohol is considered to be the fourth macronutrient. It has 7 calories per gram thats almost as calorically dense at fat. Alcohol calories are empty calories, in that they dont provide any nutrients, vitamins or minerals
When we ingest alcohol, our body begins to metabolize it or break it down and turn it into energy. Most of the alcohol we consume is processed by the liver, and the rest is excreted in urine, sweat, and our breath.
Many keto dieters find that drinking too much alcohol too frequently can actually stall their weight loss. Since the body treats ethanol as a toxin, it will work to metabolize it as fast as possible. While the body is processing the alcohol you just drank, it delays that fat-burning processes. Specifically, it slows the process of converting fatty acids to ketones
Alcohol Can Increase Hunger Or Cravings
Urban dictionary defines this as drunchies aka drunk munchies, but there is actually some science behind it. Essentially, your brain goes into starvation mode because certain neurons that deal with hunger are activated when you are intoxicated. In addition to alcohol reducing self-control, alcohol make it difficult to stick on your diet.
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How Wine Effects Ketosis
Keto & Alcohol A Love Story?
Yes, its true…the official keto diet is technically alcohol free. And its no surprise that drinking alcohol – especially in excess – isn’t exactly healthy or keto friendly. On the other hand, many experts have shown that some types of alcohol, in moderation, such as tequila, beer, wine, etc., can have pretty incredible health benefits . Though the hard core keto dieters might think differently, its common to enjoy alcoholic drinks when celebrating or socializing with friends. And many keto lovers believe that indulging in the occasional drink – even while sticking to the keto diet – wont completely derail your health and fitness goals. In fact, there are plenty of alcoholic drinks you can drink while on keto.
The Science
Calories Matter Just As Much As Carbs
On a keto diet, counting net carbs is more critical than counting calories, but alcohol is the exception to the rule. Alcohol contains 100 percent empty calories. With just a few beverages, you can easily drink a meals worth of calories without realizing youre over your limit.
Repeat this too often, and your weight may start tipping in the wrong direction. Familiarize yourself with low-carb, low-calorie options, and stick to them.
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Top 5 Keto Alcoholic Drinks
If youre still wondering how to include alcohol in your keto diet, were going to wrap this up with our top 5 favorite keto alcoholic drinks.
Nothing says celebration like a glass of bubbly! Although Champagne can be very expensive other kinds of sparkling wines or Cava come in a variety of prices and can be enjoyed as an aperitif, with your food or as a stand-alone drink.
There must be a reason why humans have been drinking wine for thousands of years. One of them is probably that it tastes really good with food. Ben Franklin even called wine constant proof that God loves us. Fortunately, drinking an occasional glass of dry wine is fine on a low-carb diet.
A vodka & soda or gin & soda is your drink if you want to skip sugar and artificial sweeteners. This sparkling drink with vodka, soda, lime and ice tastes way better than it might sound.
Even though whiskey is made from various forms of grains, its zero carb and gluten free. It comes in many different classes and types. Too much ice can kill the flavor but serving it with a little dash of water can actually enhance the flavor.
What Makes A Wine Dry
What is a dry wine and can both red and white wines be dry?
A wine is considered dry if it contains less than 10 grams of sugar per bottle. But without nutrition information printed on the bottle or the menu, how can you tell which wines are lower in sugar?
First, you have to understand that sugar in wine has a specific function. During the fermentation process, the yeasts feed on the natural sugar from the grapes to produce ethanol .
Because of this, the result doesnt contain as much sugar as it did in the beginning when it was a mash of grapes. But that doesnt mean wine is sugar-free.
Sweet wines, as opposed to dry ones, have a much shorter fermentation process. Since the yeast does not have a chance to consume all the sugar, more of it gets left behind. This leftover sugar contributes to the sweet, fruity flavor, and as a result, youll find more carbs in each glass or bottle.
Thats why youll always want to look for the phrase dry wine when choosing a wine.
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So How Can You Have Alcohol On Keto
Despite the warnings above, you can still enjoy alcohol on a low carb diet. As cliche as it sounds, the key is to do drink responsibly.
Here is how to drink alcohol on keto:
- Drink in moderation. Theres no reason to miss out on an occasional drink when you are out, but limit it to one or two. This will not only keep carbs and calories in check, it will also decrease the chance of stalling weight loss or a hangover the next day.
- Drink plenty of water. Aim for a glass of water for every drink you have, and an extra one before bed. This will reduce dehydration and youll be less likely to get a hangover.
- Choose low carb drink options. I covered low carb alcohol choices at a bar above, but if you miss classic sugar-laden mixed drinks, check out the list below for low carb drink recipes to make at home.
Low Carb Keto Cocktail Recipes
Now that you know everything you need to know about alcohol on keto, Im excited to share some low carb keto cocktails that you can make at home!
These keto friendly, low carb alcoholic drink recipes are all naturally low in sugars and super easy to make:
- Keto Skinny Margarita This 5 ingredient skinny margarita low carb, paleo, and naturally sweetened.
- Keto Mudslide You wont believe that this dessert drink is keto-friendly!
- Skinny Raspberry Lime Rickey This beautiful cocktail has just 16 calories and 4 grams of carbs per serving.
- Low Carb Margarita Sorbet The perfect summer dessert for a Mexican meal.
- Copycat Baileys Irish Cream Youll want to pour this decadent drink in just about everything.
- Barbados Rum Punch This one will have you feeling like youre on the beach.
- Tequila Sunset This infused tequila gives great flavor to this drink, and looks pretty, too!
- Wild Berry Mimosa Perfect for parties, this bright drink is super festive.
- Keto Low Carb Mojito This is currently my favorite keto alcoholic drink recipe! My husband actually came up with it by modifying a mojito at a restaurant and asking them to leave out the simple syrup. You can order it at virtually any bar , but its easy to make at home as well. Find this skinny mojito recipe below!
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What Can I Do If I Still Want To Drink Wine During Keto Diet
As we mentioned, drinking a glass of wine here and there is not going to take you out of ketosis, or set you back too much in your diet goals. The important thing though is that you want to be aware of what youre drinking, how much youre drinking, and how that will affect your overall goals of staying low carb, high fat.
They do make low carb and low sugar wines, you will just have to do some research to find a company or brand that makes these types of wines. Often times wine labels will not have that sort of information on them, but if youre searching out specific keto friendly wines, you should have no problem finding a brand that you can pick up at your local grocery store that others have tested. The key to everything is moderation, so as along as you can find that comfortable middle ground, and not go overboard with the wine, you should be able to enjoy a glass of wine during the week without worrying about it affecting your keto diet.
Can You Drink Alcohol On Keto
Is it possible to eat a healthy Ketogenic diet and still enjoy the occasional drink with family and friends?
The short answer:
Maybe…
Although alcohol isn’t ideal, it’s generally agreed that small quantities can fit in with a Keto diet.
However, there are certain types of drinks that are more suitable than others .
In this article, well look at how alcohol can impact your Ketogenic diet, along with beverages you can add to your Keto-approved alcohol list, and ones to avoid.
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