Anheuser-Busch, Inc., brewers of such popular beer-ish beverages as Bud Ice Light, Natural Light and Michelob Ultra issued a press release today disputing claims by South Beach Diet author Dr. Arthur Agatston that beer contains maltose and should be avoided when dieting.<br />
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Maltose, from barley malt, is found in beer only in its early brewing<br />
stages and is eliminated when yeast converts it to alcohol and carbonation. <br />
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"The notion that beer contains large amounts of carbohydrates is simply untrue," according to Dr. Sam Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine. "Furthermore, the carbohydrates in beer are not sugar. Basically all of the sugar is converted to alcohol during fermentation."<br />
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Anheuser-Busch has placed full-page ads in 31 national and local newspapers nationwide to advise beer drinkers of the mistakes on beer in The South Beach Diet. "Adults who responsibly enjoy beer — particularly light beer — have no need to feel the ‘carb guilt’ that Dr. Agatston has wrongly attached to beer," said Francine Katz, Anheuser-Busch vice president and spokesperson. "We want all adult beer drinkers who might be watching their carbs to know that."
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