The holidays have come and gone. You want to look good. You want to feel good—especially after that hangover from the time you tried to drink all day without passing out. So how are you supposed to relax with an adult beverage on the beach, porch, or patio? By choosing one of the five healthiest drinks you can pour up.
Vodka Soda
Ingredients: Vodka, Soda water
Let’s get this one out of the way, because everyone will tell you: “If you’re trying to watch your weight, drink a vodka and soda.” Sure, a vodka and soda is the among the most low-cal ways to drink, but there are dangers associated with it. Namely, you might fall asleep while drinking it—because it’s so boring! This can lead to choking and death.
Vodka averages 96 calories per 1.5 ounces. Soda water, of course, has no calories. However, there is no nutritional value in this drink whatsoever. You can do better.
Whiskey and Gin
Ingredients: Various
Guess what? Flavor isn’t bad for you! Forget the vodka. Bourbon generally ranges between 97 and 110 calories per 1.5 ounces (depending on the brand). In other words, you get fifty times more flavor for a small handful more calories. It’ll be a way more satisfying experience, and it won’t leave you hollow and empty (like the vodka-soda).
Gin’s caloric averages are right in the same range. Now, there’s not much nutrition here, and a daily heavy dose of bourbon or gin will certainly kill you. And be careful with is what you mix it with—use super sugary mixers and you defeat the purpose. Go neat or on the rocks, with a soda back. (Note: most hard liquors share the same properties. Tequila, light rum, etc. You’re welcome.)
Wine
A bit of wine is actually pretty good for you. Red wine packs in a ton of nutritional value. It contains four to nine precent of your DRI of iron, 9.4 percent for potassium, and five percent of magnesium. But it is also filled with antioxidants. These include “flavanoids and nonflavanoids. Resveratrol (a nonflavanoid) has been shown to reduce blood clots and lower ‘bad’ cholesterol in rats.” Calories tend to range from about 110 to 130 for a five ounce glass, which ain’t bad at all.
Mimosa
Ingredients: Champagne, Orange juice
A tasty brunch treat has made the list. We’re moving out of low-cal territory here, but calories aren’t everything.
Champagne: conventional wisdom held that red wine got its nutritional value from the grape skins (which are quickly removed from white wine), but it turns out that white wines have a ton of antioxidants, too—they’re just different antioxidants. Champagne is a sparkling white wine, though it’s liable to be sweet and thus calorie-dense.
Orange juice contains Vitamin C (immune support, neutralizes free radicals that damage skin cells and tissues), Potassium (plays a role in muscle function and reduces high blood pressure), Folic Acid (important for cell division and healthy red blood cells, Calcium (bone health, reduces high blood pressure, and promotes cardiovascular health), vitamin B6 (new cell production), Thiamin (enzyme catalyst and DNA repair). You can also make mimosas with grapefruit juice, which has similar properties to orange but it’s also known to be a “fat-burner.”
Guinness
Ingredients: Magic and Unicorn kisses
Guinness used to have a slogan: “Guinness is good for you!” Well, it really kinda is. First off, despite how thick it is, it’s way lower in calories than you think—128 calories per 12 ounces. Not bad. Because it’s made from more whole grains than lager (especially mega-brewery stuff), it’s full of nutrients. In fact, it’s been shown to have similar antioxidant properties to red wine. Want more? In 2003, the University of Wisconsin discovered that consuming Guinness may help the reduce of blood clots and heart problems.
Visit Gizmodo.com for more healthy alcoholic drinks.
