Switching to beer can help you lose weight.

Good news for beer drinkers as new research shows people can enjoy their favourite Hook Norton ale without putting on weight. In fact, swapping from wine to beer for just one week would save as many calories as a half-hour jog say the experts using information from the Food Standards Agency Calorie Calculator www.eatwell.gov.uk.

The research, published by CAMRA during last week's annual Great British Beer Festival in London shows that around one-third of men and women wrongly believe that beer has more calories than other alcoholic drinks. In fact, the opposite is true and, when drunk in moderation, beer can help you to lose weight, cut your alcohol consumption and, more generally, supplement a healthy lifestyle.

CAMRA's research is based on a groundbreaking report entitled "Beer, the natural choice?", by leading health journalist Isla Whitcroft. The report examined the health properties of beer and its calorie content, compared to other alcoholic drinks:

Half pint of 3.8% Bitter (284ml)	Medium sized glass of 12% red wine (175ml)	Medium sized glass of 12% white wine (175ml)	Bottle of 5% 'alcopop' (275ml)
85 calories	119 calories	131 calories	179 calories
1.1 Alcoholic units	2.1 Alcoholic units	2.1 Alcoholic units	1.4 Alcoholic units

 

Hook Norton Managing Director James Clarke said: "It is great to see the myth of the beer belly finally laid to rest. Too many consumers, particularly women, have been discouraged from drinking beer because of worries that it is fattening or unhealthy, and now we have proof positive that the opposite is true.

We hope this research makes more people realise that beer is low in alcohol and calories - but still packed with a fantastic amount of flavour." Professor Charlie Bamforth, renowned technical brewing expert, also welcomed the report's findings. He said: "The major source of calories in any alcoholic drink is the alcohol itself, and because beer is the drinks category with the lowest average alcohol content it is also lowest in calories.

Beer also contains no fat or cholesterol and very few free sugars. So for someone looking to lose weight, swapping their glass of wine for a beer every day would not only reduce their weekly alcohol intake by seven units – but also cut out more calories than are burned off during a typical 30 minute jog."

For information on Hook Norton contact:
Managing Director James Clarke on 01608 737210.

A copy of the report Beer, the natural choice? can be downloaded from www.beeracademy.co.uk/about-us/what-does-it-do