Hey there,
So, my dietician told me that I don’t have to really count the carbs in an alcoholic beverage (a light beer or wine) with a meal because alcohol actually has an affect on your blood sugar (lowers it). I am not a heavy drinker… But I do enjoy a light beer or glass of wine (or 2) with dinner every now and then. Is this still okay? Do I have a whack of a dietician? Just want to know if there are conflicting view points. Thanks!
Hi!
I was told something similar that alcohol can lower the blood sugar. My doctor told me that I need to count the carbs of the food I am having and bolus for the food but not the alcohol if it was beer or wine. He said I do need to stay away from any of the sugar juice types of drinks as those so have carbs and can spike the Blood Sugar real fast. Since I am only one year into my diagnosis and considered to be in the “honeymoon phase” the doctor said that if I am eating low carbs while drinking to not give myself anything as the alcohol will drop it later. I will say I am not a heavy drinker either but every once in a while like to go for a beer or wine with friends and if I give myself too much insulin to cover the carbs of my dinner and I drink alcohol my blood sugar will drop a lot over night. It is a tricky process to find the right balance of eating, drinking and insulin. My doctor told me that as long as I was eating a meal while drinking I should be fine as the food helps absorb the alcohol. I usually try to eat protein while drinking so I don’t have to really think about carbs and insulin. Alcohol often makes the blood sugar go up and then will drop it hours later (usually when sleeping).
here is a few resources i have found:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/expert-blog/alcohol-and-diabetes/bgp-20056464
Your dietician is correct. In a non-diabetic’s body, the pancreas delivers insulin to lower blood sugar and the liver delivers sugar to raise blood sugar. The liver is also responsible for processing alcohol. So, when a T1 drinks alcohol, the insulin delivered via syringe/pump is still working, but the liver suspends sugar production to process the alcohol, and alcohol effectively lowers blood sugar. It is for this same reason why T1’s are always advised to eat food with their alcoholic beverage.
t1 is a science experiment, so your results may vary considerably from what other’s experience.
beer raises my bs so I bolus
wine does not, so I don’t bolus
whiskey, neat or with ice, (dry martini, bourbon, etc.) drops bs so I eat a little something/no bolus
the only trouble with this particular experiment is if you get too loaded - dangerously low bs and being drunk look the same to most people so please be careful.
Your dietician is right. Alcohol will definitely make your BS drop while your liver is processing the alcohol. It can’t multitask and it takes a long time. So if you get low, you get no glucose to raise you up.
I did drink for many years and always struggled with it. Finally I gave it up. Of course in my state, there are other non blood sugar lowering alternatives :).
Bottom line is you gotta be careful. I used to always under dose and over snack before bed to try not to get low over night. Of course I usually drank a lot more than a couple with food. Make sure there is someone else in the house in case you need help.
Best of luck.
I’ve been drinking a glass or two of wine or a beer with dinner for years and years. It doesn’t seem to push my BG either up or down. If it works for you, do it. If it doesn’t, don’t. You’ll figure it out.
I was told something similar but different. Beer: No. Doesn’t “suspend” or occupy the liver of most people and the brewing process doesn’t burn off carbs. Hence, the “beer belly” from drinking carbs.
Wine/liquor: Yes. Does suspend or occupy the liver processing the wine or liquor. The duration of the liver’s “preoccupation” with processing wine or liquor depends on gender, size, tolerance, etc. And wine/liquor carbs burn off (more so than brewing of beer) during fermentation or distilling processes.
For me I pretty much cannot drink liquor anymore. It ties up my liver and for the next 24 or even 36 hours I can go low, low, low. Wine, I can have a few glasses with food.
Aside for the general differences among individuals in how they react to alcohol, it seems to me the other primary difference is the amount of alcohol in beer versus wine versus liquor.
I would suggest the liver’s ability to raise BG (Blood Glucose) is always affected by having to process alcohol. But the impact will be less for beer because there is typically a lot less alcohol in beer versus, say, liquor. I would also expect there to be a difference from individual to another as to how much alcohol affected their liver and thus their BG.
I realize it’s interesting to compare anecdotal observations, but I’m not sure how much you’re going to learn from them. In the end it boils down to what effect it has on you which is something you have to (carefully) figure out on your own. No?
It looks like we should all start experimenting, right?!
Your dietician gave you a textbook answer, but you’ll have to experiment (carefully) to see what is okay for you. Like everyone has mentioned above, the alcohol ties up your liver causing you to go low. However, when and how is different person to person and the effects of different types of alcohol vary. I drink a few glasses of wine with dinner most nights. If I do so, I inject less than normal at breakfast because I tend to go low around 12-24 hours. Champagne and wine do pretty much nothing to my levels until that 12 hour mark. Liquor makes me start to go low pretty much immediately and for a solid 24 hours following, if not more. Some beers I can drink without a problem, others will make my sugars sky rocket. I generally just stay away from alcohol that will spike me because I know eventually it will make me drop so I am not comfortable adding extra bloused insulin to the equation. It was also easier for me to figure all of this out because I have a Dexcom so the results are right there in front of me.
BUT like I said, you’ll have to try for yourself. I have a friend who has been Type 1 for 20 years and alcohol does nothing to her BG.
Cheers!
For me, after a couple drinks with dinner, my bs rises in the morning, so I have to cover with more insulin, but closer to 8-12 hrs later. But if I’m eating a bunch of bar food with those couple beers on occaision, I need to bolus earlier, and more, to cover the alcohol with the crappy bar food. Just take it slow until you find your own pace. Is never cool to be a drunk, but enjoying yourself responsibly takes on another dimension with T1. Have fun!
Hi there,
Have you made any progress? Like others here, I would recommend experimenting in small ways to test out what works for you. If I’m drinking with food and only bolus for the carbs in the food, everything seems to work out fine. A beer on its own, though, might need a bolus.
The biggest caveat I have is drinking a lot and then going to sleep. Some of the most dangerous lows I’ve ever had occurred about 8 hours after I’d had my last drink of the night; my blood sugar before bed was fine, but alcohol can make it drop dramatically much, much later. Fortunately my dog and boyfriend were around both times. Now I just have an extra snack before bed if I’m worried about a delayed drop. While you’re still getting the hang of things, a dexcom could be a great help, or just setting an alarm to wake you up just in case.
Hope you’re doing well!