For many people, the occasional glass of alcohol does not pose a problem. However, for people with diabetes, alcohol consumption can affect blood sugar levels. Alcohol can interact with diabetes medications and impact your blood sugar. If you’re living with diabetes, talk to your doctor about how alcohol may impact your condition management plan, even if you only have an occasional alcoholic beverage. Type 2 diabetes and alcohol is not always a beneficial combination. While moderate alcohol consumption lowers blood sugar, heavy consumption is harmful to diabetes and other aspects of health.
It’s smart to bring a snack with you to a bar or cocktail party. A piece of fruit, whole-grain crackers, or a meal replacement bar are good choices. Self assessment quizzes are available for topics covered in this website. To find out how much you have learned about Diabetes & Alcohol, take our self assessment quiz when you have completed this section. If your score is less than 70%, you can return to this section and review the information.
Drinking just gets more complicated when you consider the immediate impact that “carby” beverages have on your blood sugar levels. The most important thing to know is that alcohol consumption can cause a significant blood sugar drop (hypoglycemia). Most people benefit from consuming a snack or meal that contains some complex carbohydrates, protein, and fat. For example, if you have a glass of alcohol with dinner, choose roasted chicken, baked sweet potato, and sautéed spinach. This happens because the liver stores carbohydrates and releases them into the blood between meals and overnight to stabilizes blood sugar. The liver is also responsible for breaking down alcohol so the kidneys can flush it out of the body.
This makes it a good choice, provided you drink it in moderation. For instance, a standard 5-oz (150-mL) glass of white wine provides 3.8 g of carbs. Plus, it provides only 3.8 g of carbs in a standard 5-oz (150-mL) serving.
Alcohol use can also lead to elevated blood fats, or triglycerides, which raises your heart disease risk. If you are managing your diabetes with diet and exercise alone, drinking alcohol can stil quitting cymbalta cold turkey increase your risk of low blood sugars. And if you take insulin or types of diabetes pills that stimulate insulin production, drinking alcohol can lead to even more serious low blood sugar reactions.
Does alcohol affect blood sugar levels in diabetes?
The risk for low blood sugar remains for hours sun rock strain after you take your last drink. This is why you should only drink alcohol with food and drink only in moderation. If you struggle to keep your diabetes stabilized, you may want to avoid alcoholic drinks or speak with your healthcare provider first. Doctors advise some people with diabetes to abstain from alcohol for reasons unrelated to their blood sugar.
- However, it contains only 3.2 grams (g) of carbohydrates in a standard 12-oz (360-mL) can or bottle, compared with 12 g for the same serving in regular Miller beers.
- Bud Light is another low carb beer that provides fewer than 5 g of carbs per serving.
- Try to opt for low sugar options if you feel like having a cocktail.
One Drink Defined
The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) warns that individuals with diabetes may have other conditions that alcohol could affect. In addition, certain non-diabetic medications do not mix well with alcohol. A 2015 meta-analysis reviewed 38 cohort studies to determine whether alcohol is a risk factor for diabetes. Excessive or binge drinking is defined as having more than five alcoholic beverages in a two-hour time span for men, or four for women. Even for people who don’t have diabetes, drinking too much, too often, can be risky.
Alcohol and Carbohydrates
Drinking alcohol can be an especially dangerous activity for people with diabetes — here’s why. Alcohol can also affect diabetic nerve damage, eye disease, and high blood triglycerides. One study found that women who drink moderately have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than women who do not drink. The study had a number of limitations, however, which might alter the perception of impact. It is also important to mention that due to the growing popularity of craft beers, the alcohol content of some beers is now higher than 5%. Beverages such as beer and wine can have an alcohol content of 2–20%.
In fact, some evidence shows that many people with type 2 diabetes can safely enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages, and it may even bring about some benefits. Your healthcare provider can best determine what’s right for you. But if you do drink, know that not all alcoholic beverages are created equal what does ketoacidosis smell like when it comes to diabetes. Check with your doctor to make sure alcohol doesn’t interfere with your medications or complicate any of your medical conditions. Alcohol can also affect other medical conditions you may have, like diabetic nerve damage, diabetic eye disease, and high blood triglycerides.
Is it Safe to Drink Alcohol?
Talk with your provider if you or someone you know with diabetes has an alcohol problem. These guidelines are the maximum amount of alcohol to drink. Drinking less—as any healthcare professional will tell you—is better. The glucose-lowering effect of alcohol is not restricted to the peak of drunkenness — it actually peaks hours later. This alcohol-induced hypoglycemia may have a delayed effect, hitting you after you’ve stopped drinking, possibly after you’ve fallen asleep, or even during the next day.
