If you have diabetes, you either do not make much insulin or your body responds inefficiently to this hormone. Insulin helps your body take sugar out of the blood which means that diabetics can develop high blood glucose if their condition is not treated properly. Diabetics need to try to keep their blood glucose levels level, and alcohol can interfere with this.
Effects on Blood Glucose
One of the main dangers of alcohol for diabetics is that it can result in low blood glucose levels, also known as hypoglycemia. When the liver is metabolizing alcohol, it is unable to secrete glucose if blood glucose levels drop, DLife.com notes. Many treatments for diabetes, including insulin injections and oral diabetes medications, can cause blood sugar to become abnormally low as a side effect. Drinking alcohol while on these medications can exacerbate this side effect.
Symptoms
The symptoms of hypoglycemia and intoxication are similar, the American Diabetes Association explains. For example, both conditions can cause people to become dizzy, disoriented or sleepy. This can cause diabetics to assume, after drinking alcohol, that they are feeling intoxicated when instead their blood glucose levels are getting too low. Consequently, you must be careful while drinking alcohol if you have diabetes, as if your blood glucose levels get too low you can lose consciousness.
Calories
Another thing that you should consider about alcohol if you have diabetes is the calories that it contains. According to DLife.com, 5 oz. of wine or 1.5 oz. of hard alcohol have approximately 100 calories; the caloric content of beers varies depending on the manufacturer and type of beer, but most beers have a similar caloric content. Drinking alcohol can add empty calories to your diet, and eating too many calories can cause you to gain weight, which will raise your blood glucose levels.
Recommendations
If you have diabetes, you should avoid drinking alcohol shortly after taking your diabetes medications, as this can increase your chance of developing hypoglycemia, reports MayoClinic.com. You should also not drink alcohol on an empty stomach, as this will increase the intoxicating and hypoglycemic effects of alcohol. Drink only in moderation; men are recommended to have up to two drinks each day, whereas women should only have one drink each day. In addition, avoid mixing exercise and alcohol, as this can further increase your risk of developing hypoglycemia.
