Tag: Regulatory loophole

According to the National Institutes of Health, a single gram of alcohol contains approximately 7 calories, making it more energy-dense than protein or carbohydrates. Yet, unlike virtually every other packaged food or beverage in the grocery store, there are often no nutrition facts on beer or other alcoholic drinks. This absence of information is not an oversight, but rather a direct result of historical regulatory decisions that separated the oversight of alcohol from that of food products.

Despite being a significant source of 'empty calories' for many adults, alcohol containers rarely display nutritional information, with one gram of alcohol containing around 7 calories. This curious absence begs the question: why does alcohol not have calories listed like other food and beverages?