“Lighter in calories, and refreshing like a non-alcoholic seltzer, it may be easier to wind up drinking more,” Mills warned. “Hard seltzers may have fewer calories than beer, wine, and mixed cocktails per serving, and no added sugar, but they will still have calories,” Mills said.Īlthough many types of hard seltzer are flavored with fruit juice, the nutritional benefits of that juice are “not likely to measure up to a serving of fruit,” she added.ĭrinking too much hard seltzer can also lead to alcohol poisoning and other negative health effects from excess alcohol consumption. They still contain empty calories with little nutritional value.
With their low carbohydrate and calorie content, hard seltzers may provide a welcome choice to people who want to drink alcohol while restricting their carbohydrate or calorie intake.īut that doesn’t mean that hard seltzers are nutritious. Such numbers have led marketers to push hard seltzers as a good choice for health-conscious consumers. That’s similar to many brands of light beer. One popular brand of hard seltzer called White Claw contains 100 calories and 2 grams of carbohydrates per 355 mL can, with an alcohol content of 5 percent. “Less alcohol means fewer calories,” she added.īut how healthy or unhealthy are they, really? “Hard seltzers usually have between 5 to 7 percent, making them a lower alcohol choice compared with wine, some beers, and mixed cocktails,” Libby Mills, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND, a registered dietitian nutritionist and national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Healthline. Hard seltzers are as convenient as a can of beer, easy to pack, and ready to drink.Ī blend of carbonated water, alcohol, and fruit flavoring, they also tend to be light in alcohol and low in carbohydrates and calories. According to market research conducted by The Nielsen Company, sales of hard seltzers increased by 193 percent between the spring of 20. In anticipation of the long weekend, many Americans are stocking their fridges with beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages.Ī growing number of people are also reaching for hard seltzers, a relatively recent but increasingly popular addition to liquor store shelves. Experts say these alcoholic beverages can contain hidden calories. But just because it has “seltzer” in the title doesn’t mean it’s just bubbly water.