Bringing some Christmas cheers!

Christmas is traditionally a time when we indulge in a drink or two. Whether it is during office parties or at home when celebrating with friends, what is not often realised is the damaging calorie value of alcohol. With seven calories per gram, alcohol has nearly as many calories (nine per gram) as fat and nearly twice as many as protein and carbohydrate (four per gram).

Of course many of you want to join in with the partying and everyone has got to have some fun at this time of year so here are some ideas about what to have, what to avoid and what to enjoy:

Drinks you can have with to limit the guilt:

• Try to drink no more than one alcoholic drink an hour and ideally no more than three drinks in an evening.
• Intersperse alcohol with mineral water or diet soft drinks.
• Single shots or a spirit mixed with a slimline tonic are the best – for example, one 25ml shot of gin with diet tonic or 25ml of Bacardi with diet cola has only 53 calories.
• Other good choices include one small glass of champagne (89
  calories),
• one small glass of red or dry white wine (85 calories) or
• one bottle of half sugar Bacardi Breezer (96 calories).

Drinks to avoid include:

• full sugar alcopops (200 calories),
• premium lagers (335 calories per pint),
• vintage cider (573 calories per pint) and
• creamy drinks such as Irish cream  (175 calories per 50ml).
• It’s best to give cocktails a wide berth because it is impossible to tot up the calories they contain. 

Here's to enjoying your Christmas parties and celebrations the healthier way- Cheers!