The Low-Carb Bartender: Carb Counts for Beer, Wine, Mixed Drinks and More

This book not only addresses the generalities in carbohydrate counts and alcohol-based beverages-it also clarifies misinformation about alcohol and LC dieting in general, much of which is brought to you by the Internet. Some well-meaning LC Web sites mistakenly try to make a distinction between vodka versus "other grain-based spirits," for instance, the implication being that vodka is made from who knows what-but not grain-and therefore implicitly lower in carbohydrates. The fact that distilled vodka is also grain-based seems to elude those who continue to pass on this incorrect tidbit of information. Check the FAQs in Chapter Nineteen for a refutation of more LC diet and alcohol related myths.

As one goes through other LC Web sites, beer drinkers seemingly are relegated to drinking "light" or low-carb beers for the rest of their lives, even while in a generous maintenance phase of 60, 70, or even 100 or more carbohydrates a day. A number of popular LC diets even have a problem with maltose, a sugar sometimes found in trace amounts in beer, if at all. The fact that maltose is converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation is ignored, leading to the incorrect assumption that maltose remains the major component of beer, even after fermentation. As most knowledgeable beer drinkers might know, water makes up 95 percent of the composition of beer-that's the major component, not maltose! Both light and regular-brewed beers can be included in the menu of anyone watching their carb intake. Moderation is the key.

Diageo, one of the world's leading premium drink companies, however, has recently announced that in 2004 it will begin to voluntarily label the nutritional values of all their products to include carbohydrate contents. In late 2003, Ipsos Public Affairs, on behalf of Diageo, released a press release that came to the conclusion that "35 million plus low-carb converts in the U.S. are missing out on the party." The survey found that confusion reigns supreme when it comes to drinking while watching carbs. A very savvy Diageo is willing to jump onto the same LC wave that brewers are now riding with their monthly rollout of more new low-carbohydrate beers. The times, they are a' changing.

All the innuendoes, half-truths, and a large helping of misguided "I think," "usually," and "check the label" suggestions for carbohydrate information (when no mandatory nutritive labeling exist on alcohol-based drinks, except light beers and wines) that are floating around the Internet or found in the latest low-carb diet books put LC or controlled-carb individuals in a bit of a quandary. If they want to enjoy a drink or two while following a LC diet or a controlled-carbohydrate lifestyle-and accurately count carbohydrates-what can they do? Use the contents of The Low-Carb Bartender to get the real (not average) carbohydrate counts for hundreds of spirited products.

Whether you're on Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power, or your own interpretation of a LC diet, or just following a controlled-carbohydrate lifestyle, there's something in The Low-Carb Bartender for you!

The ultimate goal of anyone following a LC diet should be to evolve their eating and drinking habits into a controlled-carbohydrate regime-to not only lose weight, but to keep it off. That involves a lifestyle change dedicated to moderation in both eating and drinking. It also means that you can live a normal life, eating and drinking virtually anything you want by keeping a tab on your daily carbohydrate intake. The carb counts for alcohol-based beverages listed in this book will make your accountability that much easier.

This book is not for teetotalers or carb-counting fanatics who don't understand that a LC diet, and ultimately a controlled-carbohydrate lifestyle, doesn't mean that eating and drinking should consist of months of endless suffering and remorse. If you're also going to argue that drinking alcohol slows down one's weight loss or that booze is nothing more than "empty carbs," put down this book. The Low-Carb Bartender is for LC dieters who want to have a choice, whether they decide to enjoy a drink or two with their meals or at a social occasion-or not.

The inconsequential slowdown of weight caused by enjoying one or two drinks with a meal or snack is worth the price, I think, for a few moments of rest and reflection while enjoying a beer, wine, or mixed drink. Consider the fact that by carefully monitoring your eating and drinking habits, you will be training yourself to reach your ultimate goal of weight loss with a steady, consistent return to an ideal weight, not the yo-yo lose-and-gain pattern that you've probably subjected yourself to for years. Most enjoyably, you will achieve this goal through the practice of moderation, not deprivation-and with a drink in your hand!

The Low-Carb Bartender: Carb Counts for Beer, Wine, Mixed Drinks and More

Bob Skilnik

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