10 of the Best Alcoholic Beverage for People with Diabetes

This is because the liver is where excess glucose is stored in a form called glycogen. People with blood sugar issues should avoid consuming mixed drinks and cocktails. These drinks are often full of sugar and empty calories and may increase blood sugar levels. Excess amounts of alcohol can alter the way your medicines work. Drinking alcohol when you take glucose-lowering medications (insulin) or certain oral medications can increase the risk of low blood sugar.

Are there benefits to drinking alcohol with diabetes?

1. Drinking just gets more complicated when you consider the immediate impact that “carby” beverages have on your blood sugar levels.
2. However, the carb content may rise significantly if you mix vodka with tonic water — which has 32 grams of carbs per 12-ounce can — or a sugar-containing soda (27).
3. For many people, the occasional glass of alcohol does not pose a problem.
4. The number of carbohydrates needed to prevent highs and lows depends on your blood sugar level when you start drinking, your meal plan, and your medication.
5. This alcohol-induced hypoglycemia may have a delayed effect, hitting you after you’ve stopped drinking, possibly after you’ve fallen asleep, or even during the next day.

Regardless of which type of alcoholic drink you choose, remember that it’s not just sugar that interferes with your blood sugar management. Thus, you should drink in moderation and follow the practices listed above. On the other hand, traditional cocktails, dessert wines, and cream liqueurs tend to have higher sugar counts, which may spike your wean off prozac blood sugar levels. That includes light beers, red and white wines, distilled spirits, and low carb cocktails, as long as you avoid sugary juices or syrups. Since it doesn’t contain juices or other mixers, it contains 0.2 grams of total carbs in a 4-ounce (120-mL) drink.

The important thing to understand, though, is that this presumed benefit is just a theory. There is no research to show a definite link between drinking red wine and improved diabetes management. This happens when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or does not respond to insulin as it should. People often think of this as a “healthy” cocktail due to its vegetable content. Generally speaking, low carb beers may have up to 37% fewer calories and 80% fewer carbs than regular beers (8, 9).

However, this depends on the style of Champagne — dry and brut varieties are low in sugar. For instance, a standard 5-ounce (150-mL) glass of white wine also provides 3.8 grams of carbs (22). Low carb beer is a better option than regular beer for people with diabetes who want to enjoy a cold brew now and then. Bud Lite is another low carb beer that provides fewer than 5 grams of carbs per serving. Warehousing how long after taking klonopin can i drink glycogen, the stored form of glucose, is among the many tasks your liver performs. The glycogen stays there until your liver breaks it down for release to address low blood sugar.

How Alcohol Affects People With Type 2 Diabetes

If a person chooses to drink, they should always eat at the same time and include carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, or grains, in their meal. It addresses some of the risks as well as some of the benefits of drinking alcohol when you have type 2 diabetes. It also provides guidelines for how to safely include alcohol drinking when bored in a type 2 diabetes diet (if you so choose). It is particularly important to be mindful of low blood glucose.

Blood sugar levels

Doctors advise some people with diabetes to abstain from alcohol for reasons unrelated to their blood sugar. The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) warns that individuals with diabetes may have other conditions that alcohol could affect. In addition, certain non-diabetic medications do not mix well with alcohol.

Alcohol impairs your liver’s ability to produce glucose, so be sure to know your blood glucose number before you drink an alcoholic beverage. Here’s what you need to know about drinking and how to do it safely. Alcohol consumption can lead to dangerously low blood sugar levels. This is because the liver has to work to remove the alcohol from the blood instead of managing blood sugar levels. Alcohol consumption can also lead to situational unawareness of low blood sugar levels.

Diabetes, Alcohol, and Social Drinking

This means drinking can make it even harder for people with type 2 diabetes—which is defined by elevated glucose levels—to manage their blood sugar. The main function of your liver is to store glycogen, which is the stored form of glucose, so that you will have a source of glucose when you haven’t eaten. When you drink alcohol, your liver has to work to remove it from your blood instead of working to regulate blood sugar, or blood glucose. For this reason, you should never drink alcohol when your blood glucose is already low.

If you’re taking medication, talk with your doctor about whether and how you can safely drink alcohol. Drinking alcohol may affect your blood sugar levels, interact with diabetes medications, and contribute to complications. But drinking a moderate amount of certain types of alcohol, such as red wine, may be safer. Unlike protein, fat, or carbohydrate, alcohol doesn’t require insulin to provide energy to the body. The exception is sweet dessert wines, which pack 14 grams of carb in a tiny three-and-a-half-ounce glass. Most people with diabetes can enjoy an occasional alcoholic drink.

Consider what type of alcohol you are drinking, when, and how much. Understand how your medications work and how alcohol can affect them. Make sure you are drinking with food and that you can check your blood sugar levels before, during, and after drinking and eating. Exercise can also increase the risk of hypoglycemia when coupled with other factors, such as drinking alcohol.

Again, avoid those with added sugars in the form of fruit juice, syrup, or regular soda. In contrast, standard options, such as Coors Banquet, provide almost 12 grams of carbs per bottle (10). It also has a low carb version suitable for people with diabetes.

Alcohol intoxication mimics signs of low blood sugar, such as dizziness, blurred vision, and fatigue. So you may not know if your blood sugar is low or what you’re feeling is just the effects of the alcohol. This article discusses how alcohol can impact diabetes and related conditions and offers tips for safe drinking. The bottom line is that any person with diabetes who wishes to consume alcohol should first discuss it with a doctor.