Nutrition expert weighs in, beer vs. pop debate

During his rise to internet viral fame last week, CHCH News’ new beer-loving friend Dino brought up a question some people may have asked themselves, what’s healthier? Drinking two litres of pop or four beers a day? CHCH News’ Phil Perkins chatted with a nutrition expert to find out.

A reaction clip from an interview I did about the new alcohol guidelines has gone viral, so I decided to put more of the interview out there. The full story takes a more serious tone: https://t.co/Gwq4eGlbv6 @CHCHNews @CHCHTV pic.twitter.com/EkYdw8hEIN

— Matt Ingram (@MattIngramNEWS) January 20, 2023

“What’s more healthy, four beers or two litres of Coca-Cola? Do the math!” While math won’t solve this problem, science says technically, pop does offer some nutritional value, “pop most of it is sugar which is glucose which is carbohydrates which is the first form of energy used by the body,” nutrition expert Michelle Jaelin said.

Jaelin says in the end, both pop and booze harm your health.

READ MORE: New data suggests how many alcoholic drinks per week are safe

“When you drink alcohol, it literally dehydrates you because you’re trying to and you’re trying to pour more the excess alcohol. You’re trying to get your system, trying to get rid of it. So a lot of having a hangover is also like extreme dehydration as well. It’s also the body trying to recover from all the booze and all the damage that has been done,” Jaelin said.

As a Class 1 carcinogen, long-term overuse of alcohol also has worse outcomes than a bad hangover, “your liver is working so hard and eventually you start to get liver damage… it causes a lot of damage to other parts of your organs, too, like your heart, your kidneys, your stomach lining,” Jaelin said.

Jaelin says while there aren’t pop hangovers, too much of it can also cause serious issues down the line, “they’re also calories in the cup, but there’s no fiber and there’s no other nutrients in it. So what happens is you will get the energy from it, but it is not used up because not burned off and all that excess sugar, then it’s just going to it can over time cause a lot of other issues, such as issues of diabetes, weight gain.”

Jaelin also points out that those who overuse pop or alcohol most likely don’t drink enough water which is the best thing anyone can drink.