Maintaining a social life while adhering to a ketogenic diet can be challenging, particularly when it comes to alcoholic beverages. Many popular drinks are laden with carbohydrates, making them unsuitable for those following a keto lifestyle. This article explores the keto-friendliness of Malibu rum, a coconut-flavored liqueur, and provides guidance on making informed choices about alcohol consumption on a ketogenic diet.
Keto and Alcohol: What You Need to Know
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that forces the body to burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. This metabolic state, known as ketosis, can be disrupted by consuming high-carb foods and beverages.
While some alcoholic beverages can be incorporated into a keto diet in moderation, it's crucial to understand their carbohydrate content and potential impact on ketosis.
How Alcohol Affects Ketosis and Weight Loss
Ingestion of alcohol has effects on liver metabolism, in which more ketones are produced as you drink more. Drinking liquor can in fact deepen your level of ketosis, but will slow weight loss down. The body prioritizes metabolizing alcohol over other nutrients, potentially slowing down fat loss.
Many people experience a heightened level of being drunk and at a quicker rate than usual. Be aware that you need to be careful - especially if you’re driving. Do not drink and drive. There are plenty of people that also experience worse hangover while on a ketogenic diet, so make sure you stay hydrated.
Read also: Easy Diet Coke Cocktail
General Rules for Keto-Friendly Alcohol Consumption
As a general rule of thumb, liquor will always be the best thing to consume if you’re watching your carb count. Typically liquor with 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof) or higher will have 0g net carbs. When consuming alcohol on a keto diet, it's essential to:
- Choose liquors with no added sugars or flavors.
- Opt for low-carb mixers like sparkling water or diet soda.
- Stay hydrated to avoid hangovers.
- Drink in moderation, as alcohol can slow down weight loss.
Malibu Rum: A Closer Look
Rum is generally made from sugarcane or molasses, and comes in a variety of styles. It’s also zero carbs and zero sugar, but you need to watch out for flavored rums and rums with additives. Normally, the darker the rum the richer the flavor is, and the older it is. When rum is first distilled, it comes out as a clear liquid. It’s then normally placed in bourbon barrels to pick up the oaky flavor and dark color that you’re used to seeing.
Malibu rum is a coconut-flavored liqueur made with rum. While traditional rum is typically low in carbs, Malibu rum contains added sugar, making it a less suitable choice for those on a ketogenic diet.
Nutritional Information of Malibu Rum
To determine whether Malibu rum fits into a keto diet, it's essential to examine its nutritional information. While the exact carb content may vary slightly depending on the specific product, Malibu rum generally contains a significant amount of sugar and carbohydrates.
Is Malibu & Coke Keto-Friendly?
No, Malibu & Coke is not keto-friendly. It's high in sugar from both the Malibu rum (which contains added sugar) and the Coke.
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Malibu Weight Loss
Malibu & Coke is a popular alcoholic cocktail combining Malibu rum, a coconut-flavored liqueur, with cola. The macronutrient profile of one glass (156 calories) is heavily skewed towards carbohydrates, containing 28.50g of carbs with no fiber, resulting in 28.50g of net carbs. There's no protein or fat content.
For keto dieters, this beverage offers virtually no benefits. The absence of fiber, protein, and fat means it provides empty calories without nutritional value. The main drawback is the substantial carb content, which could easily exceed a keto dieter's daily carb limit in just one serving.
Given its incompatibility with keto, there's no recommended serving size for this drink within a ketogenic meal plan.
Health Benefits
While Malibu & Coke doesn't offer significant micronutrients or health benefits for keto dieters, it's worth noting that moderate alcohol consumption may have some cardiovascular benefits for the general population.
Keto-Friendly Alcohol Options
Fortunately, there are several alcoholic beverages that are naturally low in carbohydrates and can be enjoyed in moderation on a ketogenic diet.
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Malibu Medical Weight Loss
Liquor
All unsweetened and unflavored liquor will have 0g net carbs. As a general rule of thumb, liquor will always be the best thing to consume if you’re watching your carb count. Typically liquor with 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof) or higher will have 0g net carbs.
- Vodka: Vodka is usually made from a grain base such as potatoes, rye, or wheat, and runs around 35 - 50% alcohol by volume. If you must have flavored, there are a number of them that are zero carbs, but do your research online first! Note: Absolut and Ciroc both cite that their flavored vodka does not contain carbs.
- Whiskey: Whiskey is made from fermented grain, usually combining rye, wheat, corn, or barley and comes in around 35 - 50% alcohol by volume. Even though it’s a dark liquor, all whiskeys do not have any carbs (or sugars) added - making it a great drink for someone on a ketogenic diet. Depending on where the whiskey is from is where the name is derived. Scotch, whiskey and bourbon are similar forms of this alcohol.
- Tequila: Most tequila is made from the agave plant and is commonly made at 40% alcohol per volume. There are not too many flavored tequilas on the market, so you don’t have to worry too much about added sugars or carbs. Note that some tequila producers do mix their tequila with other alcohols. The agave plant is grown in many places, but depending on where it is grown will affect how the tequila tastes.
- Gin: Gin is made from a grain base and typically runs about 35% alcohol by volume. Sloe gin is a common flavored gin that’s made in England and flavored with sloe drupes. These have added sugars, and therefore added carbs in them.
- Rum: Rum is generally made from sugarcane or molasses, and comes in a variety of styles. It’s also zero carbs and zero sugar, but you need to watch out for flavored rums and rums with additives. Normally, the darker the rum the richer the flavor is, and the older it is. When rum is first distilled, it comes out as a clear liquid. It’s then normally placed in bourbon barrels to pick up the oaky flavor and dark color that you’re used to seeing.
- Brandy: Brandy is made from the mash, juice or wine or grapes. There are many types of brandy, but the most common is Cognac - a brandy that’s made in the Cognac region of France.
Wine
Unsweetened/unflavored champagne, dry red wine, and dry white wine. These are going to be the lowest carb wine that you can consume. In general, the dryest wines will have the lowest sugar. They are typically harvested when the grapes are not fully ripe (and have less sugar content) and usually don’t use a process known as chaptalization (adding sugar to the fermentation process).
- Dry Red Wine: Red wine typically has the lowest carb count of any wines as well. There are many, many brands of wine available. Since there is no standard on nutrition information and alcohol, you may want to consider picking a generic branded wine or trying to research the nutritional information online. Red wine is closely tied to the “French Paradox,” a phrase that refers to the observation that French has low rates of heart disease. There can be some truth in this, as many studies have shown that moderate consumption of red wine can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. There are also studies that link red wine to the reduced risk of dementia, depression, and type 2 diabetes in women.
- Dry White Wine: While most will tout the health benefits of red over white wine, there are some great reasons to drink white wine too. Besides this, there are studies by the Buffalo School of Medicine which showed long-term white wine consumption improving lung health. The ‘SkinnyGirl’ wines are a popular brand of wines that are low-carb and usually include the nutrition information on the bottle. Though some of their wines may have more carbs than other dry wines. Most of their wines come in at 5g net carbs - but many of the red or white wines above have even less than that.
- Champagne: Unsweetened/unflavored champagne is a good option.
Beer
Bud Select, Miller 64, Michelob Ultra. Most beers are very high in carbs so they should be avoided. Beer is one of the most common alcoholic drinks that are not very keto friendly. Beer is packed full of fast digesting, simple carbohydrates and it’s no surprise that people have called it liquid bread. There are so many different brands of beer that it can be easy to order the wrong thing and accidentally over-consume carbohydrates. There are some low-carb beers that you can drink, though. Below, you’ll find a list of some of the more common choices that are served in US bars. If you typically drink a few beers, aim for the ones with higher alcohol by volume - this means you’ll have to drink less in total. In general, the darker the beer is the higher the carb count will be. Note: If you are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, it’s important to note that beer is usually made with barley or wheat.
Mixers
Looking for a chaser to go with your drink? Most people tend to want something to chase or mix their alcohol with to make it go down easier.
- Sparkling water
- Diet carbonized water
- Diet soda
- Sugar-free energy drinks
- Water enhancers
- Bitters. These are normally a mixture of herbs that are infused into an alcohol base to make a concentrated flavor.
Note: Be careful what sweeteners are used in your mixers as some sweeteners do spike blood sugars.
Drinks to Avoid
Most of us that are on a low-carb, ketogenic diet know that sugar is in just about everything you can find.
- Port/Sherry: These are also known as dessert wines and include all types of port, sherry, and sauternes. They have a very high sugar alcohol, commonly averaging over 13g carbs for just a 3 oz serving.
- Sweet Wines: Much sweeter than dry wines, these are typically enjoyed with dessert and are a bit lighter than port or sherry. These include Moscato, auslese riesling, tokaji, and malvasia wines.
- Sangria/Margarita Mix: Typically sangria mixes and margarita mixes have over 10g carbs per 1.5 oz serving (a shot worth).
- Wine Coolers/Alcopops: The most common of these are Smirnoff ice - they’re essentially sugar-laden soda with alcohol in them.
- Liqueurs: Usually a combination of alcohol and a simple syrup (made from sugar), these are extremely high in carbohydrates.
Some other things to watch out for when ordering drinks are the extra flavors that bartenders will commonly add. Keep in mind that if you’re ordering from a bar, you can typically request your own drink to be made or specially request a no-sugar drink from the bartender.
- Fruit Juice. It’s very common for bartenders to make drinks with cranberry, orange, pineapple, tomato, and melon juices.
- Syrups. Similar to the syrups at coffee shops, these are typically made with a lot of sugar content in them.
- Fruit toppings. Many drinks are topped with berries or have wedges of orange or pineapple in them.
Keto-Friendly Malibu Bay Breeze Recipe
Malibu Bay Breeze will give you a refreshing burst of flavor. Made with fresh cranberries, coconut extract, pineapple extract, and rum. It’s like a tropical island in one easy drink!
The combination of flavors in this Malibu Bay Breeze is seriously amazing!
Ingredients:
- Fresh cranberries
- Coconut Extract - If you eat a keto diet, it’s a great idea to keep a variety of extracts on hand.
- Pineapple Extract - Oh, the fun you can have with this ingredient!
- Rum
- Water - I know I said five ingredients, but I don’t really count water as one.
Instructions:
- Boil the water and cranberries for 5 minutes.
- Strain and press the juice out of the cranberries.
- Add the sweetener and stir until it dissolves.
- Add the extract and rum.
This makes one cocktail.
Can I substitute fresh cranberries with frozen?
Yes, you can substitute fresh cranberries with frozen in a pinch. While I prefer the results of using fresh, you can’t always find them in season. You may need to boil them a little bit longer if using frozen.
Can I make it a slushie?
Sure! Simply Pour all of the ingredients into a blender with ice and give it a whirl until it’s slushie.
Can I exchange the rum for a splash of water?
Yes, you certainly can! Feel free to exchange the rum for a splash of water.
Important Considerations
Alcohol shouldn’t be consumed heavily or on a consistent basis.
- Calories: Alcohol still counts as calories and will slow fat loss down.
- Tolerance: Most people on a ketogenic or low-carb diet experience a much lower tolerance to alcohol than usual.
- Hunger:
- Dehydration: Since keto is a natural diuretic, you have to be watchful of how much water you’re drinking alongside the alcohol.
- Added sugars: Mixers, liqueurs, and many alcohols will contain some type of flavoring or added sugar.
Note: If you are on a ketogenic diet for weight loss, you may want to consider avoiding alcohol altogether. While you can consume low-carb alcohol and stay in ketosis, the ethyl will be burned by the body in preference of all other nutrients consumed. Besides this, alcohol does have an effect on hormone levels that are linked to belly fat and weight loss - so if you’re a heavy drinker, you can expect very slow or no weight loss at all.
There is also a condition called alcohol ketoacidosis which can be deadly. It usually happens to people who haven’t eaten any food in a long period of time, and are drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time.