Diabetes

JP Liz

What can someone with diabetes drink?

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Moving to LTI, from Beer/Wine/Spirits

tbh

thanks Des. I believe the answer is "anything in moderation", however they say things like satzenbrau are low in sugar. I don't drink myself, so I'll leave this open for others experiences.

robinph

I'd say anything, but then I'm not a good example of a sensible diabetic.

Anything that's not loaded full of sugar should make things easier to figure out though.

tbh

yeh - I've never really had a diabetes related problem with drink, tbh. I mean, if you're going for a one or two drinks, it probably doesn't matter and if you're going to loads, it doesn't matter either (not medical advice!)

mike65

Do not drink any standard lagers or cider, loaded with sugers. Whiskey contains no suger. Wine contains sugers but not too much (white more than red) Rum liqueurs, pina colada, etc are full of suger.

Stout is for old men.

I tend to think that diabetes and booze really shouldn't mix except for the very odd occasion.

http://alcoholism.about.com/od/diabetes/a/diabetes_risk.htm

robinph

tbh wrote: »

... and if you're going to loads, it doesn't matter either (not medical advice!)

In that case it helps if the people you are with know, know you and know what to do.

I have not let diabetes stop me from doing anything.

I'm a bit crazy though.

scarymoon1

i usually drink vodka and diet coke but last week i was drinking coronas - my blood sugar shot up to 19!! There must be sugar in it but i thought there was no sugar in beer. Guess i was wrong.

robinph

scarymoon1 wrote: »

i usually drink vodka and diet coke but last week i was drinking coronas - my blood sugar shot up to 19!! There must be sugar in it but i thought there was no sugar in beer. Guess i was wrong.

The sugar content of beer varies, some will have none, others will have quite a bit. Dry cider should have none, but should be 7.2% alcohol unless they have done something else to it, sweet cider obviously will have a lot. They are both ciders though.

The effect of alcohol on the system just on its own is liable to increase your BM due to the body processing the alcohol rather than the sugar in your blood stream, so therefore the sugar level will probably go up anyway.

Here are some example numbers:

http://www.battlediabetes.com/beer-and-diabetes/

The_Conductor

Aside from the sugar content of different alcohol beverages, you have to keep in mind that alcohol intake can lower your blood sugar levels significantly.

lucernarian

Any starch in drinks may as well as be counted as sugar in my experience. It doesn't take much effort for your body's enzymes to zip through all those simple carbs which are dissolved/suspended in water too...

But definitely, wine at least or preferably spirits, are the best option for my drinking. I also have a habit of drinking a pint or two on a night, but I try to accommodate for that with previously taken insulin.

robinph

smccarrick wrote: »

Aside from the sugar content of different alcohol beverages, you have to keep in mind that alcohol intake can lower your blood sugar levels significantly.

I thought it was the other way round?

The_Conductor

robinph wrote: »

I thought it was the other way round?

Nope- its a serious issue particularly for insulin dependent diabetics, or those on oral tablets.

Good link here

robinph

I was thinking about the right reason, but got the logic the wrong way round.

Alanstrainor

As others have said, you can pretty much drink anything in moderation. I'd tend to steer clear of ciders, although that's more due to the fact that i can't stand them, rather than diabetes getting in my way. I've never really had issues drinking Beers/stouts and whiskey.
I've heard from numerous sources that alcohol tends to decrease blood sugars, for me at least i see the opposite affect and see my blood sugars rise. And i would tend to stick to the likes of Guinness as my main drink.

kowloon

Drink Guinness all the time, treat it as a meal .

I'd imagine people who are into their alco-pops have a bit more to worry about. I was always advised to make sure I eat aswell (Bag of chips or the likes) as the alcohol makes your levels drop more than usual, but as I said, Guinness is a meal, plenty of carbs in it.

lucernarian

Only issue I have is dropping blood sugars the next day... Whether I ever had a hangover or not. In the evenings, the basal levels of insulin are pretty much non-existent, so there is no insulin to be "amplified" by the alcohol in a manner of speaking.

When I take my insulin and go to bed, that's when it's time to grab a small choc bar etc.

CathyMoran

Have not been drinking in a long time but I found that having a pint of Guiness (as long as I watched my blood sugars like a hawk and took insulin as required) was fine...having dry wine with a meal was better (but still only a glass or two again with continuous monitoring) worked...having a diet tonic water is a lot easier...at home I love diet ginger ale...

graflynn

Yes most alcoholic bevvies have sugar in them and that will, as people have said increase your BG readings.

However, no-one has mentioned why the alcohol content is significant. From what I've gathered over the years the alcohol makes your liver a bit drowsy and so if you are having a hypo it doesn't release glucose to take you out of the hypo like it normally would, (this is why sometimes you can sleep throu one). If you've had a couple of drinks you don't tend to respond to your body's signals of a hypo either. This can be dangerous.

Personally, if I'm having more than my usual "few", I would have something to eat aswell and for one night make the judgement call that it's ok to have high BG readings. But in my usual case if I'm having my usual beers I would take 1-2 units extra to cover the carb in the beer and there usually isn't enough alcohol in it to bring the readings very low.

My advise to you would be to drink the drink you normally would and by trial and error you'll figure out how to manage your insulin and carbs around it - the same as everything else really!

Alanstrainor

graflynn wrote: »

Yes most alcoholic bevvies have sugar in them and that will, as people have said increase your BG readings.

However, no-one has mentioned why the alcohol content is significant. From what I've gathered over the years the alcohol makes your liver a bit drowsy and so if you are having a hypo it doesn't release glucose to take you out of the hypo like it normally would, (this is why sometimes you can sleep throu one). If you've had a couple of drinks you don't tend to respond to your body's signals of a hypo either. This can be dangerous.

Personally, if I'm having more than my usual "few", I would have something to eat aswell and for one night make the judgement call that it's ok to have high BG readings. But in my usual case if I'm having my usual beers I would take 1-2 units extra to cover the carb in the beer and there usually isn't enough alcohol in it to bring the readings very low.

My advise to you would be to drink the drink you normally would and by trial and error you'll figure out how to manage your insulin and carbs around it - the same as everything else really!

Interesting post. I've been a diabetic for 13~ish years and never understood how i could "sleep" through lows and wake up with a high reading. Interesting stuff.

BC

I drink wine or else bottled beers such as corona, coors light and miller.
I find that my sugars rise a little with the beer but not hugely (max i've measured at is 10). I generally find that the fact that alcohol lowers my sugars and beers raise it tend to balance out my levels over an evening. I do find however that i get lows the next morning if i've drunk a lot.

I tried vodka and diet soft drinks once but ended up in a very bad way. My blood sugars dropped significantly due to the alcohol and I ended up very low with everyone trying to encourage me to go to bed thinking i was just drunk (as the symptoms are similar!!). I didn't feel the hypo coming on either due to the reasons mentioned in another post about alcohol masking the symptoms. Very scary experience and needless to say i never did it again.

1967

When i was diagnosed coming up to two years ago i was told to stay away from cider under all circumstances as its the sugariest of the lot.My endocrinoligist said ideally he would prefer that i did not drink but said if you drink dont mix your drinks if you go out drinking Heineken stay on it as much as possible,also try red wine or a spirit with a diet mixer.

robinph

Sweet cider, such as the likes of Bulmers, are loaded with sugar and best to steer well clear of. If you get some proper dry cider that has actually been made from apples, then it will have zero sugar in it. Dry cider will also probably have a higher alcohol content though.

Kelda09

just discovered the Diabetes forums tonight. Im in the library 'studying' so it's ye'r fault if I fail everything, however would just like to say thanks for the info, I never knew that I could sleep through a hypo and wake up fine and was also told when I was diagnosed years ago that alcohol made our sugars go through the roof so when I started drinking and it used to make my sugars low it always confused the hell out of me, so thanks for clearing that up. Would just like to say as well that Ive found it beneficial to remind frends on a night out that hypos can have the same symptoms as being a bit merry and as I like to forget this it comes in handy to have friends who know enough to tell you to check your bloods in that situation. Might be an idea for others.