Can You Drink Wine On Keto?

If you’re a wine lover and have decided to try the keto diet, you might be wondering whether or not a glass of wine would affect your diet. Continue reading this article to learn more about the explanation behind it!

The keto diet has become increasingly popular in recent years, but like any other anabolic fasting and diet, it can be difficult to know what you can and cannot eat or drink.

Certain meals and beverages might push you out of the ketosis condition you’ve worked so hard to achieve, so it’s crucial to know what to avoid.

But what about wine, though? Is it okay to drink a red or white wine when on a keto diet? If you’re on the diet, you’ve probably wondered how many glasses of wine can you have on keto that can negate the diet’s effects. The good news is that you can consume wine while on the keto diet, although it may impact your results with the diet.

What is the Keto Diet?

The Ketogenic diet is based on eating low-carbohydrate food items and substituting them with high-fat foods. Because your body isn’t getting the carbs it’s used to, it enters into a state of ketosis.

The keto diet can help you lose weight by lowering fat in your body and suppressing your appetite over time. Sticking to low-carb foods, on the other hand, can be challenging if you enjoy eating and drinking alcohol once in a while. 

Is Wine Keto Friendly? 

The key to remaining active with the keto diet is to eat low-carbohydrates, high-fat food items so that your body starts burning fat instead of carbs for producing energy. Maintaining a state of ketosis requires eating 20-50 g of carbs each day, but what about wine?

Wine contains carbohydrates, but carbohydrates aren’t necessarily bad; you simply have to make sure you take them in proportion. A normal glass of wine has about 3-4 g of carbohydrates, which means that drinking a glass of wine won’t push you out of ketosis, but it will add another 3-4 g of carbs to your daily total.

You should also be cautious about the sugar content in your wine, as the keto diet restricts your daily sugar consumption. While it is recommended that you should avoid alcohol while on the keto diet, a glass of wine here and there will not adversely affect your diet’s progress to the point where it is a concern.

However, if you start drinking more wine, you may find that your body is no longer in ketosis and begins to burn carbs for energy instead of fat.

Nutritional Values of Wine

One glass of red wine is the suggested serving size (5 ounces or 147 grams). The USDA provides this nutritional information. [1]

  • 125 calories
  • 0 g fat
  • 5.9 mg sodium
  • 3.8 g carbohydrate
  • 0 g fiber
  • 0.9 g sugar
  • 0.1 g protein

Carbs

If you drink a glass of red wine, you’ll consume somewhere around four grams of carbohydrate, including one gram of sugar. Red wine, unlike fresh grapes, does not contain fiber. 

Fats

Red wine contains no fat.

Protein

Wine does not include any protein.

Minerals and vitamins

A glass of red wine contains 0.2 milligrams of magnesium, which is around 10% of your daily magnesium requirements. Red wine also contains a small amount of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.

Calories

The number of calories in wine is determined by the type of wine and the serving size. A five-ounce glass of red wine contains around 125 calories. 

Keto-friendly drinks

Below are a few low-carb alcoholic drink options that are considered keto-friendly.

Champagne

Champagne and sparkling wine have an average carb content of 4.68 grams per glass. As a result, most keto diet plans allow you for a little glass of wine to celebrate a particular occasion.

Light beer

Although most beer has a high carb content, there are some lighter choices of beer with an average carb content of 5.81g per can. [2] To keep within carb limitations for the day, choose a light beer.

Red Wine

Both red and white wine have a low carb content. A normal glass roughly contains about 4.7 grams of carbs, 0 g of fat, and 0.1 g of protein. [1] The lowest sugar level is found in dry wines.

Spirits 

Spirits like gin, whiskey, rum, and vodka have no carbohydrates in them. For a drink with no calories, sugar, or carbs, combine 1 ounce of your favourite hard liquor with a mixer like soda water or flavoured sparkling water. For reference, one shot of tequila contains 97 calories and 0 grams of carbs, fat, or protein.

Mojito

A classic mojito comprises only 5 g of net carbohydrates, 0 g fat, and 0.2 g protein and is created with rum, lime juice, mint, sugar, and soda water. It’ll add up to a lot of carbs on that particular day, but it’s doable on a day when you really want a mixed drink.

Alcohol Tolerance and the Ketogenic Diet

Most of you have probably wondered why do you get drunk faster on keto diet. The reason for this is that a ketogenic diet can cause a reduction in alcohol tolerance. Carbohydrates are stored in your body as glycogen, which is comparatively low during the ketosis state. Because glycogen levels are low, there are relatively lesser things in your body that can absorb alcohol.

Carbs can lower blood alcohol levels. Because there are no carbohydrates or other sources of energy in ketosis, alcohol enters the bloodstream and is absorbed more quickly. Your tolerance to alcohol is reduced as a result of this effect.

Drinks to avoid if you’re on a Keto diet

The following is a list of drinks with high sugar and carb content. If you’re on a keto diet, you must stay away from these drinks.

Beer

A 12-ounce can of beer contains 12.8 grams of carbs. For maintaining the ketosis state, light beer is a preferable choice.

Cocktails

A sweet cocktail drink could include 46.67 grams of carbs or more. This is nearly the full daily carb allowance on the keto diet. [3] Sugar is commonly found in flavored alcohols like a peach flavored vodka, bloody mary.

Wine coolers

A lot of sugary content can be found in the fruit juice mixed in a wine cooler. A glass of wine cooler has an average carb content of 13.6 grams. Diet cranberry juice is a fruit drink with less sugar and fewer carbohydrates that can be used as a mixer.

Sangria

Sangria is made with wine, fruit juice, and a mixer, all of which are high in carbohydrates. A glass of sangria can have up to 18.9 grams of carbs in it.

Other factors to consider

The goal of the keto diet is to get your body into ketosis. Following particular dietary rules is required to maintain this state. The diet may not be effective if these instructions are not rigorously followed.

It takes a lot of willpower to stick to the keto diet. Alcohol can impair decision-making, leading to the consumption of foods or beverages that are not on the diet plan. If a person believes that drinking alcohol may cause them to break their diet, they should avoid it. However, if a person eats a high-carbohydrate meal before drinking, the alcohol’s effects may be reduced.

FAQs

How much wine can you drink on keto?

Even though some keto-friendly wines are allowed on the keto diet, it’s best not to drink them daily. Try not to include more than one 5-ounce glass per day for women and two glasses per day for men.

How many carbs are there in a 750ml bottle of wine?

A glass of red wine has 125 calories and 4 g of carbs, whereas a glass of white wine has 128 calories and 4 g of carbs. The quick takeaway is that a glass of wine won’t ruin your keto diet, but a bottle will. [4]

Does white wine or red wine have more sugar?

Sugar content present in a bottle of wine can range from 4 grams to 220 grams per liter. Red wine has the least sugar, roughly 0.9 g per 175ml glass, whereas dry white wine has around 1.4 g per 175ml glass. [5]

Can you drink wine on keto and still lose weight?

Drinking wine can help you stay in a ketosis state, but it will slow down your weight reduction. Wine use can have both positive and negative consequences on your liver, which is responsible for the production of ketones.

What wines are keto-friendly?

If the wine is low in carbohydrates, you can consume it on a keto diet. Red wines like Merlot and Pinot Noir, as well as dry white wines like Brut Champagne and Sauvignon Blanc, are examples of keto-friendly wines.

Conclusion

If you’re on a keto diet, consider a low-carb alcoholic beverage to stay within the restricted limits of the diet. You can drink wine while on the keto diet, but make sure to stick to keto-friendly wines which have minimal carbohydrate content.

Beer and cocktails are high in carbs and may cause the body to exit the ketosis state. This may reduce the diet’s effectiveness. Low-carb beverages include wine and light beer. Spirits are carb-free, but be sure to use a low-calorie mixer.

A glass of keto wine a day is enough because drinking too much might cause a severe hangover and lower your inhibition to eat high-carb foods. Keep in mind that drinking can impair your judgment and willpower. When someone is on a keto diet, drinking can have a greater impact on the body.

References

  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture. “FoodData Central: Alcoholic beverage, wine, table, red”. U.S. Department of Agriculture | Agricultural Research Service
  2. U.S. Department of Agriculture. “FoodData Central: Alcoholic beverage, beer, light”. U.S. Department of Agriculture | Agricultural Research Service
  3. U.S. Department of Agriculture. “FoodData Central: Orange Old Fashioned Mix Cocktail”. U.S. Department of Agriculture | Agricultural Research Service
  4. National Library of Medicine. “Calorie count – Alcoholic bevarages”. Medline Plus
  5. Lukas Snopek. “Contribution of Red Wine Consumption to Human Health Protection.” Molecules vol 23(7) (2018): 1684
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