Can I Drink Alcohol If I Have Type 2 Diabetes?

Blood sugar that is too high is called hyperglycemia, while blood sugar that drops too low is called hypoglycemia. Although your doctor will tell you what your specific blood sugar goal range is, generally, a target blood sugar range is 80 to 130 mg/dL if you are testing your sugar on an empty stomach. Diabetes is a chronic medical condition that can have various negative effects on your health and wellbeing. Depending on the severity of your diabetes and other related health considerations, it may be a good idea to quit or limit your use of alcohol, as alcohol has a big effect on your blood sugar levels. To sum it up, the key to safe drinking if you have diabetes is to drink in moderation and to monitor your blood sugar regularly. This will keep you healthy and safe when you enjoy a toast with friends and family this holiday season.

The more complicated the meal , the more complicated dosing your insulin around that meal with alcohol onboard too will be. Even if you’re eating an entirely low-carb meal, eating a little peanut butter or cheese or mixed nuts with a few glasses of wine can help prevent or reduce the drop in your blood sugar hours later. It’s crucial that you approach each type of alcohol with an awareness that it might affect you differently than the last type of alcohol you drank. Wears on us more noticeably because our body is already experiencing higher levels of inflammation along with blood vessel and nerve damage due to non-diabetic blood sugar levels. If you’re at risk of hypoglycemia, make sure you carry glucose tablets, gel, or liquid. Hypoglycemia treatments such as juice or regular soda might be available where you are consuming alcohol, but it’s best to have treatments on hand. Some studies have shown that using one of these drinks as a meal replacement once daily leads to weight loss in some people with diabetes.

Type 1 & Type 2

She enjoys giving lectures and writing articles for both the lay public and medical audiences. Verywell Health articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Black box warning, the most severe warning required by the FDA, due to the risk of lactic acidosis. While this disease is rare, it can be deadly if not treated properly. Type 1 diabetes, which used to be called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes mellitus, makes up 5–10% of diabetes cases in the U.S and is often diagnosed in childhood.

Metformin, a medication that decreases insulin resistance, can cause potentially lethal side effects in patients whose liver is not functioning properly. Accordingly, patients who abuse alcohol and are therefore at risk for liver damage must not take metformin. This table lists popular alcoholic beverages and gives the average serving size, carbohydrate content, and number of calories. Water is sufficient to keep you hydrated for moderate exercise.

Health & Wellness Tips

Plan ahead by decreasing your basal insulin (long-acting) dose if you wear a pump, or eating extra carbohydrates. Instead, “Have a good meal before or during drinking,” said Arevalo. But know the carb count of what you are eating and work with your healthcare professional to determine how to take medication for that meal along with the alcohol you are consuming.

Heavy drinking, particularly in diabetics, also can cause the accumulation of certain acids in the blood that may result in severe health consequences. Finally, alcohol consumption can worsen diabetes-related medical complications, such as disturbances in fat metabolism, nerve damage, and eye disease. Studies of diabetic patients have failed to show any short-term effect of moderate alcohol intake with a meal or alcohol administered intravenously after an overnight fast .

The Effect Of Evening Alcohol Consumption On Next

If your glucose drops to less than 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), you’ll need to down 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates. This could be three or four glucose tablets, 4 ounces of juice , or five pieces of hard candy . Drinking alcohol in moderation has also been linked to a number of other health benefits, such as increasing the amount of good cholesterol in the blood.

At this point, alcohol can affect blood sugar in ways that are especially important for people with type 2 diabetes. This is because the liver is where excess glucose is stored in a form called glycogen. A 4-ounce serving contains just one carb and about 78 calories. You could even mix it with sparkling water to increase the volume without adding sugar or calories. If you’re celebrating over dessert, try a small portion of a diabetes-friendly treat like fresh berries or this chocolate-topped strawberry cheesecake. Some wines have high residual sugar, particularly off-dry, sweet, and dessert wines.

How To Cook For Someone With Type 2 Diabetes During The Holidays

The most commonly used glucose-lowering medications for type 2 diabetes today generally don’t cause hypoglycemia. This is one reason why people with diabetes need to be especially cautious about their alcohol use. The problem is that the liver cannot perform both functions at the same time. When a person consumes alcohol, the liver begins to break it down. When it is busy doing this, it does not release stored carbohydrates to maintain blood sugar, meaning that blood sugar levels can drop to dangerous levels. Beer is a popular drinking choice, whether it be while social drinking or just cracking open an ice cold bottle in front of the television on game night. However, one important thing to consider when drinking beer with Type 1 diabetes is the carb content.

Lagunitas Daytime IPA comes in right around 3 grams of carbs per 12 oz. Coors Light can be found most anywhere and only has 5 grams in a 12oz bottle (keep in mind that if get a pint on draft, you’ll get more carbs). The treatments for Type 2 diabetes often emphasize lifestyle changes, such as changing your diet and exercising. In some people with Type 2 diabetes, can diabetics drink alcohol medications may be necessary. Diabetes is a condition in which your body has trouble processing food the way it should to use it as energy. When we digest food, it breaks down into sugar, or glucose, that our cells can use for energy. A small organ called the pancreas is responsible for making insulin, a hormone that gets glucose into our body’s cells.

Alcohols Effects On Complications Of Diabetes

Just be sure to consult your doctor first and test your blood sugar frequently to find out how alcohol affects you. But in addition to monitoring your protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake at each meal, don’t forget that what you drink matters, too.

She lives in Massachusetts with her family and holds an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and a graduate degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Taskinen MR, Valimaki M, Nikkila EA, Kuusi T, Ehnholm C, Ylikahri R. High density lipoprotein subfractions and prostheparin plasma lipases in alcoholic men before and after ethanol withdrawal. Lin RC, Dai J, Lumeng L, Zhang M. Serum low density lipoprotein of alcoholic patients is chemically modified in vivo and induces apolipoprotein e synthesis by macrophages. Klatsky L, Friedman GD, Siegelaub AB, Gerard MJ. Alcohol consumption and blood pressure. Chait A, Mancini M, February AW, Lewis B. Clinical and metabolic study of alcoholic hyperlipidaemia. Drinking is individualized and there’s no universal rule for how to do it safely when you live with diabetes.

That afternoon latte could be causing a glucose spike rather than perking you up. • Alcohol stimulates your appetite, which can cause you to overeat and may affect your blood sugar control. Transitional living Moderate alcohol consumption is perfectly safe for most people with diabetes. Hoppy craft beers like IPAs and stouts tend to be much higher in carbs, usually 15 grams or more per serving.

• Wine is another popular choice of alcohol, kinda like beer’s classier sibling.
• Liquid sugars are quickly absorbed by the body, so those carbs won’t be much help in preventing or treating a low that may occur hours after you drink.
• People who consume those high amounts of alcohol typically have been drinking and not eating for days and/or have vomited or developed other illnesses from drinking.
• If you take medicine for diabetes, drinking alcohol may cause low blood sugar.
• The insulin resistance is partly inherited and partly acquired.

This situation can be amplified if the drinker vomits repeatedly. Vomiting can lead to dehydration and a reduced blood volume, which, in turn, increases the levels of certain stress hormones in the blood called catecholamines. Catecholamines further decrease insulin production and increase glucagon production.

Pathophysiology Of Diabetes Mellitus

Moderation is the key as too much alcohol can cause hypoglycemia. A standard 5-ounce serving has about 120 calories, nearly all of which come from alcohol, not carbs. Test your blood glucose levels more often on the day you drink and the next day, to see the effect of alcohol. Also, test before bedtime, and if your sugar is low, have a snack. Beers do contain a moderate amount of carbs and generally have 2-12% ABV . Those with lower ABVs will have closer to 6 grams of carbs, whereas higher ABV beers may have as much as grams per 12-ounce bottle. If you’re drinking beer on tap and don’t have the nutrition facts, sticking with beers that have an ABV of 7% or less can help keep your carb intake in check.

Overall, carb counting can be a great tool, but it may not be for everyone. It takes a lot of work to find out how many carbs are in different foods, and you have to be diligent in keeping track of what you’re eating and adding up the carbs. Read on to learn more about what carb counting is and whether or not it’s right for you. Hypertriglyceridemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, elevated triglyceride levels can cause severe inflammation of the pancreas (i.e., pancreatitis). Heavy drinking (i.e., more than 140 grams of pure alcohol, or approximately 12 standard drinks, per day) can cause alcohol-induced hypertriglyceridemia in both diabetics and nondiabetics (Chait et al. 1972).

“If you feel peer-pressured to drink, let them know that you have to take care of yourself because of your diabetes. Good friends will respond in a positive way, and will understand and help you. If you want to have a good time and don’t want to keep an eye on how much you are drinking, alert your friends about your diabetes. Let them know where you have your supplies, how to use them, and who to call and what to do in case of an emergency.” Remember, never drive if you have been drinking.