
As it is Friday afternoon, happy hour is appropriate. FFF!*
Our favorite beverage adds calories that we don't often consider. My friends at
Beach Body have provided a fabulous list of the best & worst cocktails. Tip the cup!
THE BESTRed wine: Much has been written about wine's high antioxidant content, the chemical resveratrol, and how wine drinkers are the healthiest sect of those who imbibe regularly.
Downside: The sulfates in red wine negatively affect many people, often leading to an inability to sleep {
this is a BB point that makes me go WTF? Wine puts me to sleep like zzzzz}
Microbrews: Microbrewed beer is healthier than beer, much healthier in fact. Most mass-produced beers in the U.S. are cheaply made, while microbrews adhere to the European codes for beer production, which dictate that it's made from barley, hops, wheat, and water. A good microbrew contains protein (more than double, in fact), more electrolytes (quadruple), and many times more vitamins and assorted phytonutrients (like flavonoids) than cheap beer.
In fact, microbrewed beer is better for you than most sports drinks, sometimes even for sports.Guinness stout: Thick, rich, and syrupy, one Guinness can feel as satisfying as a case of Bud Light. It's also low in calories and high in iron, making it one of the best choices if you're going for a mass-produced beer.
Downside: When one doesn't do the trick anymore, you can quickly pile on calories. And remember that most calories in beer come from alcohol.
Top-shelf alcohol of any kind: Straight, on the rocks, or with water. The means of producing hard alcohol ensure that you're getting what you pay for. Cheap stuff isn't made with a high-quality distillation process, leaving it with all sorts of impurities and a taste that renders it to be mainly used as a mixer with nonalcoholic, and usually highly caloric, substances.
Downside: Cost
Vodka & soda: Vodka is the purest of the hard alcohols, and soda is mainly water. {
They are NOT talking about a Coke, but rather actual soda water, which is a great mixer}
THE WORST Scorpion: Or just about anything you'll find at the Kon Tiki Inn, Trader Vic's, or any place where a drink is referred to as "grog." If there's anything worse than mixing a lot of sugar-based alcohols together, it's mixing them with a bunch of sugary juices in a bowl that's big enough for six.
Long Island Iced Tea: Forget the word "tea." There are no antioxidants to be found in this concoction of five different alcohols, sweet and sour mix, and Coke.
Red Bull & vodka: One of the main offenders of the hangover is your inability to sleep well after a night on the town. Nothing enhances the chance of seeing dawn's early light like a couple of these. The only positive is that maybe you'll dance all night and work off the calories.
Jack & Coke: You might as well just mainline your whiskey. Nothing's better than Coke for creating a sugar rush. Adding alcohol to this mix creates the perfect atmosphere for a bar fight.
PiƱa colada: The only thing more densely caloric than alcohol is fat, and this baby combines the two, along with all the sugar you need to guarantee a hangover.
The result is a virtually nutrition-free milk shake that contains half of your daily caloric requirement. So there you go kids, drink responsibly.
*Finally Fucking Friday!