I have heard that beer and liquor... alcohol in general... is very bad for those who have D. My bf has T1 and usually drinks 1-3 beers a night. I get mixed answers when I research. I hear that alcohol drops bg, but I also hear that it spikes bg. What is the truth? What are the long term repercussions of drinking now?
And what if he eats right after he takes his Bolus and doesn't wait the 15 minutes?
Are those ice cream bars with no sugar added ok? It has 4g of sugar.
I’ve had Type1 Diabetes since I was 8 and am now 24, so I dealt with the typical teenage lifestyle as a Diabetic. What my doctors always told me was that alcohol (beer, liquor, wine, etc…) will spike your BG, then overnight it will crash. That being said, it IS smarter to eat while drinking: pretzels, popcorn, some type of long lasting carb that will carry through the night. I have had problematic episodes will drinking. Drinking can change how you react to insulin the next day (was told by my aunt who is a Diabetic and a nurse) that sugars are often low the next day and should be monitored closely, especially when/after eating, because they are likely to drop. (monitor BG + use less insulin the next day).
Beer has a lot of carbs in it, which means BG will shoot up fairly high. Wine has lots of sugar, therefore same outcome. While BG can get very high, do not over bolus as the alcohol will make BG plummet in the middle of the night, and DKA or serious hypoglycemia can follow.
Light alcohol: white rum, vodka, etc… and diet coke is the best idea. There are no carbs and it is easier to control BG while drinking. HOWEVER the blood-glucose level will still rise, and something like pretzels should still be eaten to evade lows.
I am by no means a fantastic Diabetic; this is just real life testimony and relayed info from endochrinologists/nurses
Moderation!
Alcohol will spike then lower BG. During the night our liver produces sugar to get us through the night, with alcohol in your system the liver’s only job is to remove it (alcohol) from your system so it stops doing everything else. In fact my Endo said it was better to drink during the day, so I guess it is back to the three martini lunch!
I was diagnosed Type1 at 24 and since then large quantities of alcohol have very negative affects on me (wasn’t the same before diagnosis). So moderation is the key.
They’er saying what I was told. I’ve been a Type 1 for (soon to be) 37 years and that’s what every dr I’ve had says. Spike it then lower it
I agree with everything every one said,but 1-3 beers a night is probably not good.Once in awhile sure.I even go out drinking with my friends occasionally ,but our bodies are already under so much physical stress, especially our livers and kidneys, that it’s not really a good idea to drink that frequently.
That’s their. Just noticed my mistake with the spelling on my page! Sorry!!!
Alcohol in moderation is best. Beer sends my blood sugar up. Dry red wine, by comparison, has very few carbs. Distilled alcohol (vodka, scotch, rum, bourbon, tequila, whiskey) has zero carbs. Wine & distilled alcohol (without sugary mixes or soda) lower BG, so I never drink on an empty stomach. I don’t drink much or often, but test constantly when I do.
No sugar added ice cream & most sugar free candies usually have sugar alcohols as sweetener, Sugar alcohols can cause gastric upset–stomach aches, gas, diarrhea. Some people can metabolize sugar alcohols & they act the same as sugar for these people. By testing after eating these foods, he’ll know how they effect him,
Waiting 15 minutes after taking a bolus before eating is a general guideline. It depends if this works for him, it’s fine. He’ll know by testing.
Gerri, I thought you said that dark beer didn’t raise your BG?
I think it is the type of alcohol and the person and you just have to test and see. But yeah, I think even for a non-d person 1 to 3 beers a night is a not good (and might even be considered by some to be on their way to AA). But our bodies and our organs are probably best not to be exposed to that much alcohol - we probably have more of a chance of problems since we are already a bit compromised.
A bit off-topic. Does anyone know of a website or such one can go to find out the carbs in the various alcoholic products? I was dismayed doing beer research at the store and found a that the only beer that had the carbs on it was Guiness - why don’t the other put nutrition labels on?
we have a Group here called Diabetes and Beer
Hi Kimberely,
Guinness Draft doesn’t send me high like other beers. Yay, Guinness. One more reason to love this yummy stuff. It has less carbs than most. If I drink a whole bottle, I have to bolus for it.
It sounds like you are drinking too much diabetic or not . one drink a day for females and one or two a day for males has shown to have health benefits .However more than that will cause negative effects . Dark beer ,red wine have the best health benefits. Dr Sear says you should eat some protein with it to protect from having glucose spike.
Each person needs to test their BG level because each one of us react different to the same brand of beer.
He drinks Guiness. 