There's nothing better than sitting down with a frosty one at the end of a long, hard, slog of a day. However, for a long, long time, the drinking culture here in the UK has relied on the presence of alcohol in that beer or glass of wine.
I mean, why drink if there's no alcohol – right?
The thing is, times are changing and with the relatively recent boom in fitness, people appear to be enjoying the benefits of drinking a pint and socialising without the addition of a blasted hangover from hell the next day.
Which is awesome! Because recent research has shown that going alcohol-free has numerous health benefits.
Better yet, you can STILL enjoy that beer with the latest invention by Heineken!
Yep, the geniuses at one of the world's most loved beer brands have finally unveiled their new 0.0 Lager Beer, which is unlike any other alcohol-free beer on the market today.
You see, rather than just producing a run of mill "that'll do" beer, the master brewers at Heineken started from zero and spent years brewing, exploring and crafting before finally settling on a recipe designed to give maximum beer satisfaction sans alcohol.
It's characterised by refreshing fruity notes, a soft malty body and is perfectly balanced thanks to the natural ingredients.
Furthermore, you will receive a FREE SAMPLE of said beer with every Muscle Food order so you can taste the deliciousness yourself – hooray!
But enough of that, let's chat benefits of choosing an alcohol-free drink over an alcoholic one…
1. Lower calories
Alcohol-free beer, like Heineken 0.0 Lager Beer, is much lower in calories than its alcoholic sibling. In fact, a regular Heineken beer with 5% volume contains 42 calories per 100ml. That's +138 kcal per 330ml bottle.
Their 0.0 Lager Beer has just 21 calories per 100ml! That's a teeny tiny +69 kcal per 330ml.
2. There's no hangover
Hangovers suck. It's probably the biggest downside to alcoholic drinks as it dehydrates you, lacks essential salts, has pretty much no minerals and vitamins and, in spite of how inebriated you are, stops you from having a deep and restful night's sleep.
The thing is, the more you drink, the more you want. It's a vicious cycle.
BUT, alcohol-free beer may just be the answer to these tales of woe. How? Well, drinking alcohol-free beer quells any urge you may feel to keep drinking more.
3. Better for your heart
Having a drink (in moderation) has been shown to help prevent heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions. Initially it was believed that the ethanol present in the drink was the reason for this, but recent research has debunked this.
In fact, the same team discovered that drinking non-alcoholic beer actually boosted anti-oxidants, slowed blood coagulation and increased Vitamin B6 – known to protect the heart.
4. It's pregnancy friendly
Pregnant women often swear off alcohol for 9 months for obvious reasons and, if breastfeeding, they'd be very, very careful of how much they drank after the baby arrives.
However, alcohol-free beer is the safest option to choose, so mums-to-be can enjoy a guilt free tipple knowing it doesn't effect the baby's health, their own or breast milk production.
Can help post-exercise recovery
A post workout pint can seem like a treat after slogging it out in the gym, but because of it's diuretic effect on the body, it can leave you feeling dehydrated and tired. The carbohydrates and sodium found in non-alcoholic beer can help to aid recovery after a workout, so you can enjoy a low calorie tipple after a workout without the worry.
