Low carb beer has been branded an "insidious health risk" by a doctor who says it could encourage more drinking and, take note girls, it does little to prevent a beer gut.
Diet conscious drinkers have flocked to beers like Foster's Pure Blonde and Bluetongue's Bondi Blonde which make much of their low-carbohydrate credentials, says addiction expert Dr Peter Miller.
But such beers should not be seen as a "healthy alternative" to full-strength beer, he said, and if your waistline was the concern then a switch to light beer would be better.
"The recent rapid increase in popularity of low-carbohydrate beers in Australia ... may represent an insidious health risk," Dr Miller said.
"The message should be made explicit - low-carb beers are not a healthy choice."
The problem, Dr Miller said, was that while the beers had lower carbohydrate levels they delivered almost the same energy load to the body as full strength beer.
Low-carb beers contain around 1.5 grams of carbohydrate per 100ml - about half that found in full strength beer.
But when it comes to overall kilojoules of energy delivered to the body, low carb is not far short of full strength beer.
Low-carb beers pack about 130 kilojoules of energy per 100ml while full strength beer can range from 150 - 170 kilojoules.
