Fermenting carbohydrates results in the production of alcohol. The carbohydrates that remain in the alcoholic mixture after the fermentation process ends can be removed by distillation. But alcoholic beverages normally contain significant amounts of carbohydrates. When you consume alcohol, the carbohydrates in the beverage are converted into glucose in your digestive system and released into the bloodstream. This gives rise to an immediate rise in your blood sugar levels. However, unless you eat or continue drinking, your blood sugar levels quickly drop.
Glucose Levels
When glucose enters the bloodstream, the pancreas responds to this increase in blood sugar by secreting the hormone insulin. Insulin triggers a metabolic process during which body cells use glucose as energy, and excess glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver or converted into fat. When blood sugar levels drop, the pancreas produces the hormone glucagon. Glucagon signals to the liver that the body needs energy. The liver then converts glycogen into glucose and releases it into the bloodstream. If there is a shortage of glycogen, the liver can turn protein into glucose and fat into glycerol and fatty acids. Glycerol can be converted into glucose.
Alcohol Metabolism
Alcohol, or ethanol, can be metabolized only in the presence of certain catalysts, or enzymes, such as alcohol dehydrogenase. This molecule helps the liver convert alcohol in the blood into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is converted into acetic acid, which in turn is converted into carbon dioxide and water. The liver can only remove a limited amount of ethanol from the bloodstream at any one time. The alcohol that remains in the bloodstream can pass into the brain, which results in intoxication.
Blood Sugar After Alcohol Consumption
Because alcohol is toxic for the body, the liver devotes most of its energy to alcohol metabolism. Alcohol metabolism inhibits the liver's normal function. When the liver is busy processing alcohol, it no longer secretes any substantive amounts of glucose into the bloodstream. Unless you eat while drinking, this lack of glucose lowers your blood sugar levels substantially.
Diabetes and Alcohol
Diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas does not produce sufficient amounts of insulin or the body does not respond properly to insulin. Type I diabetes is usually controlled with insulin injections or oral medications that make the pancreas produce more insulin. When a diabetic on insulin drinks alcohol, the extra insulin removes blood sugar from the bloodstream. As the liver is busy metabolizing alcohol, it cannot supply sufficient levels of blood sugar. The combination of these two factors may result in dangerously low blood sugar levels, also known as hypoglycemia.
