Diabetes And Alcohol Consumption

By: Adrian Fletcher

Being diagnosed with Diabetes is a life changing event. As yet there is no cure for the disease and this means you will have diabetes for the rest of your life. You have to adapt and live with the disease.

Treating the disease involves watching your blood sugar levels each day. You may also have to inject insulin or take pills to make your body more responsive to naturally occurring insulin. You should get regular exercise. You must take more notice over what you eat and drink.

Watching what you eat and drink is probably one of the hardest things to get used to when you have diabetes because for most people eating is a very enjoyable experience. However once you have adapted to having diabetes, you will find that meal planning is actually quite easy.

One thing that many adults with the disease wonder about is whether alcohol and diabetes is compatible. How does alcohol affect the body and can a diabetic consume alcohol like someone that doesn't have the disease. This article will cover these issues.

In reality, there is no problem having the odd alcoholic drink from time to time if you are diabetic. However consuming alcohol is akin to taking in empty calories. In other words, alcohol has no nutritional benefit even though it puts lots of calories into the body. This can make it hard to control the blood sugar level in the body. It may also lead to weight gain which can worsen or increase any diabetic complications.

The liver metabolizes alcohol once it gets into he bloodstream. It can take up to two hours to process an ounce of alcohol depending on the size and shape of your body. While it is doing this it stops making glucose.

When this happens there is a chance that the blood sugar level could drop to a point where the person becomes hypoglycemic. A person that is hypoglycemic will feel lethargic or could pass out. This is why people often advise never to drink on an empty stomach.

Alcohol and diabetes can be controlled if you eat a small meal or snack before starting to drink. This will allow the liver to create some glucose and it will enter the bloodstream before any alcohol enters the body. This should ensure that a person doesn't get hypoglycemic. If you take any medication for diabetes then you shouldn't drink until around 2 hours afterwards.

Be temperate with your alcohol consumption. Alcohol has no real benefits to the body in terms of nutrients. For diabetics it will only cause spikes in your blood sugar levels. this is ultimately bad for the body as it will increase the chances of further diabetic complications affecting you. In particular, your circulation will get worse and this could lead to numbness in the feet, damage to the nerves and problems with the cardiovascular system.

Having a glass or two of wine with dinner is perfectly ok. Drinking alcohol as part of a celebration is also fine. As you become more experienced with diabetes you will know when you have taken on too much alcohol.