I understand calories are from carbs, fats, and proteins. But I’m starting to see alcohol saying “0 carbs, 0 fat, 0 protein” but they will have calories. I always assumed alcohol calories are a subset of carbs. Can anyone clarify if alcohol is its own category or if it is carbs? I see that many hard liquors are 0 carbs. If I wanted to watch my sugar but still drink, would drinking alcohol not count as carb intake?
Alcohol is it’s own category. It is similar (7kcal) per gram in calories as a gram of fat (9kcal per gram)
The more distilled or “concentrated” the alcohol the more calories. So a volume equivalent of rum to beer; the rum would be more calorie dense option. It’s why you see people with considerable “beer bellies” with very little food intake whilst drinking heaps.
You can figure out the kcal from %alcohol concentration also! Just multiply % alcohol by the volume and then multiply this by 7kcal
Alcohol is treated just like sugar by the liver and contributes to metabolic disorder in a similar way. I still love a glass of red wine though but try to have it with my main meal to blunt the effects. I’ve given up most forms of sugar but clinging to my red wine lol
Alcohol is a macronutrient on its own. It just doesn’t get talked as such because it’s not very useful, but it does provide evergy at 7cals per gram.
Some alcoholic beverages, like beer and wine, also have carbs. A lot of spirits have zero carbs, but still all the alcohol calories.