What are the hidden health risks of zero and low-alcohol drinks?
Sales of booze-free and low alcohol â dubbed NoLo â beers and wines are booming as more of us make the switch to seemingly healthier drink choices.
Slowly, steadily, we are reducing the amount of alcohol we consume as a nation.
Recent data from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) shows that alcohol consumption fell by 4.5% last year, continuing a welcome downward trend.
Sales of booze-free and low alcohol â dubbed NoLo â beers and wines are booming as more of us make the switch to seemingly healthier drink choices.
According to the Irish Beer Market Report, the demand for non-alcoholic beer alone grew by 18% in 2023-2024.
The move to reduce alcohol intake is good news for our long-term health.
But experts are questioning whether the NoLo market is as worthy as its manufacturers claim.
âIndustry data shows that low- and no-alcohol drinks represent only about 1% of the market,â says Sheila Gilheany, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland.
âThey are portrayed as a public health solution to excessive alcohol consumption, but the World Health Organization has significant concerns over the marketing of the products and says that reduced or no-alcohol drinks donât deserve a health halo.â
Others suggest that they are no better for us than conventional soft drinks, with many NoLo products being relatively high in sugar.
Scientists from the US, Germany, and Spain recently warned that consuming just two small bottles of some low- or no-alcohol beers a day is enough to raise blood sugar levels and the long-term risk of type II diabetes and obesity.
âNon-alcoholic beers are gaining popularity as alternatives to alcoholic beverages, yet their metabolic and health effects, compared to no consumption of these drinks, remain unclear,â they reported in the Nutrients journal.
For the study, the international research team asked a group of 44 healthy young men to drink either two 330ml bottles of alcohol-free beer or water every day for four weeks. During the trial, the team conducted regular blood tests and other assessments to check for changes in glucose and lipid metabolism, liver enzymes, body composition, and the composition of the menâs gut microbiome.
The results showed that, compared to water, alcohol-free wheat beers and âmixed beersâ â a variety typically flavoured with soda â had âan unfavourable metabolic impact on glucose and fatâ, which the team said was âprobably due to the caloric and sugar contentâ of the drinks.
Lighter Pilsner-type, low-alcohol beers with a maximum 0.5% ABV, had a much less damaging impact.
Pure alcohol contains around seven calories per gram â almost as many as fat â or about 56 calories per unit. Non-alcoholic drinks with an ABV of 0.5% or lower typically contain fewer calories than regular versions of the same drink, but they are not necessarily low-sugar or low-calorie options.
In many cases, sugar is added to enhance flavour and palatability, significantly increasing the sugar content per bottle or glass.
The Government recommends that adults limit their intake of added sugars to no more than 30g per day. Over one third of that upper limit would be reached with one 330ml bottle of Erdinger Alkoholfrei zero-alcohol beer, which contains about 11g of sugar.
âThese drinks could be substitutes for some other soft drinks or consumed in addition to them, but they are an alternative not a better choice,â Gilheany says.
âLow- and no-alcohol drinks are not suitable for children or for adults in alcohol recovery, as they simulate the taste and flavour of alcohol.â
Yet many of us canât get enough of low- or no-alcohol beers and wines.
Hereâs what you get per glass or bottle in some of the popular NoLo products:
0.0% ABV;
0.7g per 100ml; 3.1g per can;
17 per 100ml; 75 per can.
0.0% ABV;
Less than 0.5g per 100ml; 1.5g per bottle;
19 per 100ml; 63 per bottle.
0.4% ABV;
2.9g per 100ml; 9.5g per bottle;
29 per 100ml; 95 per bottle.
0.5% ABV;
0.1g per 100ml; 0.33g per bottle;
16 per 100ml; 53 per bottle.
0.5% ABV;
0.1g per 100ml; 0.33g per bottle;
Four per 100ml; 13.2 per bottle.
0.0% ABV;
0.8g per 100ml; 2.64g per bottle;
23 per 100ml; 75 per bottle.
0.0% ABV;
1.3g per 100ml; 4.29g per bottle;
21 per 100ml; 70 per bottle.
0.5% ABV;
0.4g per 100ml; 1.32g per bottle;
6.0 per 100ml; 19.9 per bottle.
0.05% ABV;
0.2g per 100ml; 0.6g per bottle;
14 per 100ml; 39 per bottle.;
Less than 0.5% ABVÂ
3.6 per 100g; 11.9 per bottle;
25 per 100ml; 82 per bottle.
0.0% ABV;
2.5g per 100ml; 8.25g per bottle;
22 per 100ml; 25.3 per bottle.
0.5% ABV;
1.4g per 100ml; 4.62g per can;
22 per 100ml; 72.6 per can.
Less than 0.5% ABV;
5.7g per bottle; 0.76g per 100ml; 1.33g per 175ml glass;
25 per 100ml; 43 per 125ml glass.
0.5% ABV;
2.1g per 100ml; 3.6g per 175ml glass;
17 per 100ml; 30 per 175ml glass.
0.5% ABV;
Less than 0.5g per 100ml; 1.65 per can;
18.5 per 100ml; 61 per can.
0.5% ABV;
5g per 100ml; 8.75g per 175ml glass;
20 per 100ml; 35 per 175ml glass.
Less than 0.5% ABV;
5g per 100ml; 8.75g per 175ml glass;
20 per 100ml; 35 per 175ml glass.
Less than 0.5% ABV;
4.2g per 100ml; 7.4g per 175ml glass;
24 per 100ml; 42 per 175ml glass.
0.0% ABV;
2.7g per 100ml; 4.7g per 175ml;
10.9 per 100ml; 19 per 125ml.
0.0% ABV;
4.5g per 100ml; 7.8g per 175ml glass;
29 per 100ml; 50.7 per 175ml glass.
- Industry data shows that low and no-alcohol drinks represent only about 1% of the market
- See: Alcoholireland.ie
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