Holy crap, this is interesting news. I admit I’m the kind of person who shies away from looking at the calorie count of my favorite foods while simultaneously feeling guilty for not paying closer attention.  Occasionally I’ll look up some information on the web when I need a boost to my resistance. Sometimes actually seeing the calorie count is enough to dissuade me from diving in. 

The same is true for beer.  I know my favorite beers are extra high in calories, but I don’t really want to know the details. While my runs lately have me burning anywhere from 500 to 2,700 calories at a pop, that’s still not a license to indulge in anything I want. 

But as it turns out, all calories are not created equal.  In this Beer Clinic article from YourBeerNetwork.com, Dr. Carol Westbrook explains how our bodies react differently to calories from alcohol than they do from food. (Yeah, yeah, I  know some of you consider beer to BE food.)  Because the body does not completely metabolize alcohol – passing the unused calories out of the body rather than storing them like food – the calorie count listed for beer is different than what the body actually takes in.  Using Dr. Westbrook’s equation, a 12 oz bottle of Sam Adams Boston Lager with 5% ABV has 180 declared calories, but only 94 calories when corrected for the different metabolism rate for calories. 

Check out Dr. Westbrook’s complete explanation here.  That extra pint should come with a little less guilt tonight.