Helps You Sleep Faster
Like most benefits of alcohol, it can only be achieved when consumed moderately and avoiding consumption of high amounts. When vodka is drunk in moderation, it is shown to help induce sleep and stimulate sleep latency.
Especially for insomniacs, the difficulty of falling asleep is a big problem. For this reason, it is good to drink vodka right before bed to help you fall asleep faster.
But remember to consume only a sufficient amount because drinking more than you should likely result in the opposite effect and reduce your total amount of sleep.
Other Issues With Drinking And Fat Loss
Besides the science behind our metabolic processes, weve also got some humanistic flaws.
When we ingest alcohol, our inhibitions are lowered, which can make mindless snacking and cheating on your diet much more likely to happen.
On a ketogenic diet, youll notice you are hungry less because of the slowly released energy from fats. If you start drinking alcohol on a relatively empty stomach, you will start to feel the effects of alcohol much faster .
Speaking of a fasted state, a great way to deplete glycogen stores is by intermittent fasting. This technique allows your body to enter ketosis much faster, as the primary source of energy is fat and not carbs. Your body is forced to use up its glycogen stores faster, run out, and move on to the fats youre feeding it.
Lastly, just as with any diet, alcohol consumption should be limited. Alcohol calories are empty calories. They provide our body will small amounts of energy but are short-lived. We also dont absorb any nutrients, vitamins or minerals from alcohol. Its best to keep alcohol a treat and enjoy in moderation.
Bottom Line: Consume In Moderation
If you are to drink alcohol on a ketogenic diet, vodka will be probably one of the best choices. It has absolutely no carbs, no sugar and has a bunch of both external and internal uses that promote heath.
Just like with many foods or liquids , its up to you how to use it and whether you use it to your harm or benefit.
This guide, together with the rest of the guides on ABC Keto, is supposed to show you facts so that you can make the right and conscious dietary choices.
The bottom line is: if you like vodka, drink it but make sure it aligns with your goals and lets you make progress.
If you find this mini guide helpful and useful, please share it with your friends on social media. My goal is to reach as many people as possible to help them make wise dietary choices and transform their lives. Thanks!
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My Favorite Keto Vodka Cocktail Recipes
Vodka Moscow Mule: 1.5 oz. Vodka, 0.75 oz. Fresh Lime Juice, Zero Carb Ginger Beer
Vodka Cucumber Mint: 1.5 oz Vodka, 3 oz Club Soda 2 Cucumber Slices, Sprig of Fresh Mint
Vodka Martini: 1.25 oz. Vodka, 0.25 oz. Dry Vermouth, Lemon Twist
Vodka Dirty Martini: 1.5 oz. Vodka, 1 oz. Olive Brine, 1 Whole Blue Cheese Stuffed Olive
Firey Vodka With Jalapeno: 1.5 oz Vodka, 3 oz Club Soda, 2-3 slices fresh jalapeño to taste
So there you go!
Enjoy your adult drink and your ketones. Isnt Keto Great?!?!?!?
~Angela
I’m Angela Davis, Co-Founder of Advantage Meals. I have a Bachelors in Anthropology and Masters in Holistic Nutrition. My passion is Ancestral Nutrition and for over a decade I’ve been helping Keto Diet beginners and those looking for their Primal Diet. “There is no one right way.”Below are the most recent articles I’ve written for AdvantageMeals.com.
What Alcoholic Drinks Are Keto
There are several alcohols that are fine on a keto diet. The main ones are:
- Wine: Dry Red wines Dry White Wines , Champagne, Prosecco, Dry Sparkling Wine, Dry Rose.
- Light Beer: Be careful here! Non-alcoholic beer is NOT the same as light beer! Only light beer is keto-friendly.
- Hard liquor: Bourbon, Gin, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, Whiskey are all keto-friendly. If you like them in cocktails, read my cocktail section below!
- Dry cocktails: Dry Martini, Dry Manhattan, etc.
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Full Bodied Beer And Cider
Beer can also be very carb-heavy depending on the type you choose. Beer is made by fermenting carb-containing grains like barley and wheat. And many beer varieties contain added sugar.
Similar to wine, the final carb count for the beer is dependent on the fermentation process and how much sugar the yeast is allowed to turn into alcohol. Thus, higher alcohol content typically means higher carb when it comes to your beer selection.
Some of the top styles of beer that tend to be high carb include:
- Ale Beer – 195 calories and 9 grams of carbs per drink
- Craft Beer – 195 calories and 9 grams of carbs per drink
- Hard Cider – 198 calories and 21 grams of carbs per drink
- IPA Beer – 195 calories and 9 grams of carbs per drink
- Lager Beer – 153 calories and 14 grams of carbs per drink
- Wheat Beer – 164 calories and 11 grams of carbs per drink
Drinking On The Keto Diet
You dont have to avoid all alcohol in order to stay in ketosis. With the right choices, its quite possible to enjoy a drink or two and stay on the keto diet.
Some alcoholic drinks can fit into a healthy ket diet, while some over-the-top mixed drinks contain massive amounts of sugar. In short:
- Pure spirits like vodka and whiskey contain zero carbs
- Wine is much lower in carbs than beer.
- Watch out for sugar in drink mixers.
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Keto Alcohol: Your Guide To Drinking On The Keto Diet
Is it okay to drink alcohol on the keto diet? In short, yes as long as you drink alcohol in moderation. Having one or two keto-friendly drinks wont kick you out of ketosis. The trick is knowing what types of alcoholic drinks are keto-compliant, and what types of drinks to avoid on the keto diet.
Be Aware Of Diminished Willpower
Maintaining a healthy ketogenic lifestyle requires focus and willpower. When you drink, your inhibitions and willpower weaken. This is why its so easy to go for a few pieces of pizza at 2 a.m. after a night of consuming alcohol instead of a handful of pistachios and a glass of water.
So even if you choose your low-carb alcohol carefully, the choices you make after those drinks may end up throwing you out of ketosis.
This isnt meant to be a buzzkillits simply something more to consider when opting for a second or third drink.
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Keto Diet And Alcohol: The Best And Worst Drinks To Choose
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet used by many people to lose weight and improve health.
It typically requires careful planning so that you stick within your daily carb allotment and keep your body in ketosis. This may mean giving up sweets, snacks and other high-carb indulgences like soft drinks and alcohol.
However, there are plenty of low-carb alcoholic beverages that you can enjoy in moderation even on a keto diet.
This article gives you the best and worst alcoholic drinks to choose on the keto diet.
Can I Drink Beer On Keto
Yes, you can drink light beer on keto in moderation. There are carbs in beer, but as you can see in the list below, they range from about 2 grams 7 grams, so choose appropriately!
Here are some low carb beer options, perfect for keto:
- Amstel Light 5g net carbs
- Becks Premier Light 3.2g net carbs
- Budweiser Select 55, Budweiser Select, Bud Light 1.9g, 3.1g and 6.6g net carbs, respectively
- Coors Light 5g net carbs
- Heineken Light 6.8g net carbs
- Michelob Ultra 2.6g net carbs
- Miller 64, Miller Chill, Miller Lite 2.4g, 3.2g, and 4g net carbs, respectively
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Fatty Liver Lay Off The Booze Until It Heals
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a huge health epidemic, impacting increasing numbers worldwide including 65 million people in the US alone.15 Research suggests that one of the major contributors is the overconsumption of fructose and sugar sweetened beverages.16 Dr. Evelyne Bourdua-Roy wrote about how common NAFLD is among the patients in her GP practice but also how reversible it is on a low-carb, low-fructose, high-fat, no-alcohol diet in her article How fat is your liver?
Higher rates of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are very common in people with diabetes, obesity, and polycystic ovarian syndrome.18
On a scan, a fatty liver looks exactly the same, whether caused by chronic alcohol consumption or high-fructose intake in someone who has never touched a drink.19
The takeaway: Anyone with any fatty or fibrotic liver issues should avoid sugar, carbs and alcohol until the liver has healed. If you have liver problems you should avoid alcohol under all circumstances, says Lustig.
Can You Drink Alcohol On Keto
Is it possible to eat a healthy Ketogenic diet and still enjoy the occasional drink with family and friends?
The short answer:
Maybe…
Although alcohol isn’t ideal, it’s generally agreed that small quantities can fit in with a Keto diet.
However, there are certain types of drinks that are more suitable than others .
In this article, well look at how alcohol can impact your Ketogenic diet, along with beverages you can add to your Keto-approved alcohol list, and ones to avoid.
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Why Does Keto Lower Alcohol Tolerance
To understand why you get drunk faster on keto, you need to understand how your liver works .
Your liver has many functions, but the ones important for the keto and alcohol consumption include:
- Storage of extra glucose and its release when necessary
- Blood detoxification and purification, including the processing of alcohol
When you eat a diet high in carbohydrates, the liver stores plenty of glycogen. The storage and release of glycogen in the liver slows down alcohol metabolism. This is one of the reasons that eating carbs can help you feel less drunk.
When you are in ketosis, the liver stores very little glycogen, and this causes alcohol to be metabolized a lot faster. Therefore, the alcohol will enter your bloodstream more quickly and your alcohol tolerance will be lower.
Why Is Alcohol Moderation Important To Stay In Ketosis
As stated above, your body always burns alcohol calories first, so while youre working through those booze calories, you will not be losing weight.
Second, its generally accepted that alcohol hits you harder when on a keto diet.
Cut back on the booze when you first start a keto diet so you can learn how the effect of a few drinks on you has changed. You might find that what used to give you a relaxed buzz now knocks you over. Just be careful.
Finally, I think you and I can agree that our judgment and willpower are both impaired when weve been drinking.
If you are a snacker when youve been partying, this could be a major hit on your Keto Diet. While the drink isnt going to kick you out of ketosis, a bag of chips or half a pizza that you cant say no to while a little tipsy certainly will kick you out of ketosis.
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Alcohol On The Keto Diet
Along with carbs, protein, and fat, alcohol is considered to be the fourth macronutrient. It has 7 calories per gram thats almost as calorically dense at fat. Alcohol calories are empty calories, in that they dont provide any nutrients, vitamins or minerals
When we ingest alcohol, our body begins to metabolize it or break it down and turn it into energy. Most of the alcohol we consume is processed by the liver, and the rest is excreted in urine, sweat, and our breath.
Many keto dieters find that drinking too much alcohol too frequently can actually stall their weight loss. Since the body treats ethanol as a toxin, it will work to metabolize it as fast as possible. While the body is processing the alcohol you just drank, it delays that fat-burning processes. Specifically, it slows the process of converting fatty acids to ketones
Alcohol To Avoid On Keto
- Beer is made of barley, hops, yeast, and water. Rich in carbs.
- Ciders and long drinks are like alcoholic sodas.
- Wine has grape juice, some sweeter than others. More carbs.
- Cocktails and sugary mixers have soda, syrups, and juices.
- Flavored spirits have added sugar and more carbs.
In general, the sweeter something tastes, the more carbs it has. You wont get kicked out of ketosis by drinking a glass of wine or even two. But you will definitely do so with beer, cider, and cocktails. Those margaritas arent good for ketones or your waistline.
- Dont eat food while drinking alcohol. Because its still a toxin, the liver will prioritize metabolizing alcohol, making the calories from food more likely to be stored directly as fat.
- Getting drunk may prone overeating. Its common for people to binge on junk food when theyre drinking. Even if you do eat keto friendly foods, its still bad.
- Alcohol also dehydrates you, so you should follow up every drink with a glass of water.
People react differently to drinking alcohol. But what youll see is a lower alcohol tolerance on keto.
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While You Are Looking For Low
While you are taking so much care of what you eat and how you consume your daily foods, then grab an effective fitness journal to keep the progress report of your fitness.
The fitness journal helps you keep track of your body weight and measurements in the easiest way possible and motivates you to stay fit and shed off your extra body weight as fast as possible.
What are the keto alcohol drinks to consume?
- Easy keto rum punch
Eating Too Much Protein
Protein is a very important macronutrient which most people dont get enough of.
It can improve feelings of fullness and increase fat burning better than other macronutrients .
Generally speaking, more protein should lead to weight loss and improved body composition.
However, low-carb dieters who eat a lot of lean animal foods can end up eating too much of it.
When you eat more protein than your body needs, some of its amino acids will be turned into glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis .
This can become a problem on very-low-carb, ketogenic diets and prevent your body from going into full-blown ketosis.
According to some scientists, a well-formulated low-carb diet should be high in fat and moderate in protein.
A good range to aim for is 0.70.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight .
SUMMARY
Excessive protein consumption on a low-carb diet can prevent you from getting into ketosis.
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Is Pineapple Keto Friendly
You may be surprised to see pineapple in a Keto diet recipe. If youre counting your carbohydrates, you can eat pineapple or other fruits in small amounts. Its not worth buying a whole pineapple for, but adding some chopped canned pineapple to a sauce will add lots of flavor you can appreciate with minimal carbs.
Keto Ginger Whiskey Soda
If you like your drinks strong with very little between you and the smoky whiskey flavor, keto ginger whiskey soda is the drink for you.
It has nothing in it except whiskey and a couple of ounces of keto ginger ale, meaning youll get a whole lot of rich whiskey flavor along with some lovely bubbles and a hint of ginger.
Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and we’ll send the recipe straight to your inbox!
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What Does Vodka Taste Like
Despite its lack of distinct flavor, vodka is a complex spirit. It shows variation in its mouthfeel or texture instead. These textures can range from delicate, oily, watery, and silky to medicinal. As there are no set regulations in its production, it’s difficult to categorize all vodka into two or three categories due to the vast number of variations that exist today.
Contrary to widespread assumption, vodka is not void of taste and odor. In fact, there are noticeable differences in taste between vodka if you look hard enough.
There is a subtle flavor, and more often, it tastes like grains. With constant trying of different brands and observing, together with years of drinking alcohol, it will be possible to ascertain the differences they have with each other.
Another distinction between varieties of vodka would be the “heat.” It refers to the burning feeling you get on your tongue or the back of your throat when drinking vodka. Cheaper vodkas tend to have this burn, while more expensive brands are smoother.
What Else Can I Drink On Keto Besides Water
Thankfully, there are still plenty of options for beverages you can enjoy and still remain in ketosis, which are really any low-to-no carb drinks, says Tewksbury, such as:
- Coffee
- Seltzers
- Fruit-infused waters
- Unsweetened teas
The bottom line: You can drink alcohol on keto if you do so in moderation and go with unsweetened alcoholic beverages that are low in carbohydrates.
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How And Why Alcohol Affects Us
alcohol molecules slow down signals from the brain for actions such as walking and talking Alcohol is actually the fourth macronutrient, providing our body with 7 calories per gram. If you arent familiar with macronutrients, you can read more about macronutrients here. Since alcohol is not needed for survival and is considered toxic to humans, its ignored under this umbrella of essential macronutrients.
When we ingest alcohol , our body begins to work to metabolize it or destroy/break it down to get energy. Since alcohol is toxic to our bodies, we begin to metabolize it as soon as possible. The tipsy feeling we get is the alcohol being metabolized. Since alcohol molecules are water and fat soluble, theyre able to pass through and be delivered to pretty much all parts of our body, most importantly, our brain and liver. About 98% of the alcohol we consume is processed in the liver the rest is excreted through urine, sweat and even breathing!
Some symptoms of being drunk like slurred speech, impaired judgment and poor gross motor movement is caused by the alcohol molecules slowing down signals from the brain for actions such as walking and talking. For this reason, its classified as a depressant, as it slows down our bodily functions fat burning being one of them.