1) The good news first : Beer like wine is fat free and contains useful ingredients like protein, potassium, selenium, folic acid and vitamin B 12 in a water base.
Beer may actually help to slightly reduce the risk of developing kidney stones if taken in recommended amounts. This could be due to its high water content and the diuretic effect by helping in more urine production. But if you don’t drink, this should be no reason to start also.
2) An average 350 ml serving of regular beer has 150-200 cal whereas the light (or Lite) variety of beer contains 100-130 calories. The difference between the two varieties in terms of calories is often negligible. Do not get fooled into drinking more of the light variety thinking it to be the healthier option.
3) Drinking two regular beers is equivalent to eating a double hamburger, or two slices of pizza or one big roast beef sandwich. Beers with higher alcohol content have more number of calories as compared to beers with lower alcohol content, so if you are watching your weight, it is better to switch to beer with lower alcohol content.
4) Colour of the beer depends on the colour and type of malt used for brewing and has nothing to do with more or less calories. If the alcohol content of the beer is same, both the light and dark variety of beer will have the same calories.
5) Doctors recommendation of safe intake of beer is two glasses of 350 ml per day for men and one glass per day for women. This recommendation is for people who have no underlying kidney or liver problems.
Most of us are not aware that it is not mandatory by law for the beer manufacturers to mention the alcohol content or the caloric content per 100 ml of beer on the label. So we would sometimes never know what we are gulping down. Enjoy within the safe limits..