Is Beer A Good Way To Gain Weight?

So here is the big question – is beer a good way to gain weight? Well, yes, beer can help you gain weight, but it’s not exactly a good way to gain weight. Just by drinking a beer a day can get you an extra 150 to 250 calories, depending on the type of beer. And that quickly adds up, considering it’s about a 10 percent increase in your daily calorie intake.

Just think about it – having two beers daily for a week will get you about 2,000 calories. So basically, you eat the amount of calories needed for eight days but have it in just seven days. That’s an extra day of eating every week! And that’s just from having two beers every day.

So, drinking beer can get you the extra calories needed to gain weight, but it doesn’t get the good nutrients to help you gain the correct type of weight. In fact, beer can even have a laxative effect!

Quick fact: Beer has long been considered a type of food, especially in Germany and Belgium. A famous phrase, “Beer should be liquid bread, not colored water” is attributed to Trappists* of France, showing how nutritious beer actually is. A similar phrase is also present in Russian folklore, where kvass, a type of cereal drink, is known as “bread in a bottle”.

*Trappists – or the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance is a Catholic religious order originating in France.

Can Beer Make You Fat? Is Beer A Good Way To Gain Weight?

Yes, drinking beer can make you fat, but it’s not the right type of fat. And it’s very easy to go overboard and drink too much. The most important question is, how does beer make you fat? Let’s take a closer look and try to see how beer helps you gain weight:

#1 – Beer Has Alcohol

The alcohol in beer will make you fat, but the effects vary depending on the amount of alcohol. Most beers have an average alcohol percentage of 4 to 8 percent ABV, with some exceptions over and above these values. The alcohol in beer is a byproduct of starch fermentation by yeast. Starch is made of carbohydrates (carbs), which have enormous nutritional value in terms of energy. This amazing amount of energy is then transferred into alcohol (this explanation is rather simplistic, but that’s how alcohol is created).

Every “point” of energy, which is called calorie, is used by the metabolism or by physical activity. If the energy is not used by the metabolism or by physical activity, the excessive calories (or “points” of energy) are stored inside your body. This is why you get fat – the excessive calories in the alcohol are stored. Drinking beer regularly will get more alcohol in your body, which will make you fat.

On average, a 12-ounce can of beer, with a 4% ABV, has 14 grams of pure alcohol. One gram of pure alcohol has seven calories, so just from a can of 12-ounce beer, your body picks up about 100 calories.

Let’s say it again – a single can of beer has about 100 calories, only from the pure alcohol content.

#2 – Beer Has A Lot Of Cereals and Grains

Beer is essentially an alcoholic beverage made of cereals and other grains, depending on the variety you choose. Cereal malt, which is a major ingredient used in brewing, and non-fermented starch are both made of very nutritional carbohydrates (and all are sugars). This means they have a lot of calories – which help you gain weight. These carbohydrates are ideal for storing when unused by your basal metabolism or via physical activity.

#3 – Hops Can Make You Fat

Hops were used for centuries as a flavoring agent in beer. It gives beer the distinctive bitter taste that we all love and look for. However, recent research shows that hops have a secret ingredient that makes you gain extra weight.

Hops may be estrogenic – apparently, hops have a powerful phytoestrogen called 8-PN, or hopein. This means hops and drinking beer may affect your hormonal balance. While data shows that these pro-estrogenic compounds in hops benefit bone health, they can also make you gain weight faster.

The 8-PN estrogen has a similar effect as the common feminine hormone, which has a major effect on fat storage. For instance, many women complain of excessive weight gain while taking contraceptive pills, which alter the body’s hormonal balance. Estrogen also develops secondary female sexual characteristics, like breasts and hips, but also stores fat in case of starvation during pregnancy.

You guessed it – messing with your hormonal balance is not a good idea. And beer, because it has hops, and hops have estrogen, can make you gain fat. 

Quick fact: One pound of body weight can be gained if you consume an extra 3,500 calories (above what your body normally burns). Drinking 20 to 25 beers a month will gain about 1 pound of body weight. 

Is Beer A Good Way To Gain Weight? – Other Factors To Consider 

So yes, beer can make you gain weight, but it’s not a good way to gain weight. Of course, other things can make you gain weight faster or slower, regardless of whether you are a beer drinker or not. Drinking beer can make you fat, but there are more factors to take into consideration. Here’s what to pay attention to:

• What type of beer you drink – lagers have lower amounts of calories, and less alcohol; IPAs have more alcohol and are more nutritional
• How often and how much you drink – having a can of beer every day is an extra 150 to 250 calories per day, which quickly adds up; if you drink two or three beers, you quickly get to almost 500 to 1,000 extra calories per day
• What you eat when you drink – this is something we often overlook, but it’s very important; having a burger with french fries and a beer can quickly get to 2,000 calories, which is A LOT!
• Your overall diet – pay attention to your overall daily diet; beer should be part of a healthy diet
• Your genetics – some people gain weight much quicker, based on their specific hormonal profile
• Your gender – women and men gain weight very differently; a woman will gain weight faster than a man if both consume the same amount of beer
• Your level of physical activity – if you are a physically active person, drinking a beer every day will not make you fatter; you’ll just burn the extra calories
• Your age – younger people have a faster basal metabolism, and they burn more calories; on the other hand, older people have slower metabolisms, so gaining weight is easier for them; a 50-year old will get fatter after a beer than a 20-year old

Wrapping It Up

In conclusion, while beer can contribute to weight gain, it should not be relied upon as the primary means of gaining weight, especially for those who are too thin. A well-rounded and nutritionally balanced approach, guided by healthcare professionals, is a much safer and more effective way to achieve healthy weight gain while maintaining overall well-being.