Difference Between Light & Regular Beer

Seven of the top 10 beers sold in the US are light beers. They account for about half of the total beer sales. In fact, one out of every 5 beers sold in America is Bud Light.

How can it be that light beers are outselling regular beers in a country where most everything else is not light but rather heavy.

Which begs the question, what exactly is a light beer?

A 12 fl. oz. standard beer has 150 calories, but a light beer has only 110 calories.
Regular beer has 13 grams of carbs (52 calories), light beer – only 5 grams (20 calories).

In both beers, the majority of the calories are from alcohol. The rest of the calories are from carbohydrates.

Diet soft drinks achieve calories reduction by substituting sugar with artificial sweeteners, but light beer achieves calories reduction by a slightly different brewing process compared to regular beer.

Light beer contains less alcohol, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your goal for the night. If you want to get a fun, light-headed buzz from a light beer, you may discover that one bottle or can isn’t enough, and thus end up drinking two, which paradoxically will have you consuming more calories than you would with a single regular beer.

When it comes to flavor, light beer tastes watered down compared to regular beer, but as the stats show, America is fine with that. Hundreds of Bud Light commercials over the years have helped Americans acquire the taste.

If you are drinking light beer despite its watered down flavor, just to keep the pounds off, maybe you should rethink that strategy. Just drink less of the regular stuff you enjoy, or on fewer occasions.

In any case, remember that when it comes to beer, you there is no nutrition benefit. It’s just another “snack”. And always drink responsibly.