Alcohol and Diabetes

How Beer, Wine and Liquor interact with your Blood Sugar Levels

Alcohol and diabetes can make an interesting pair, but there are some important things you need to know before you have the first drink. There are many sides to this topic that needs to be better understood for you to be able to make the right choice.

Many people enjoy having a drink or two to relax after a stressful day at work or go out for a night on the need a drink to loosen up to enjoy the evening. You may be wondering if that drink and diabetes are a good mix or not? Here are some facts that you may not be aware of.

Your body views an alcoholic drink as a toxin in the system, a poison. Your liver works hard to clear it from the blood quickly. While this is happening, your liver will not release any glucose again until it has removed the alcohol.

This can lead to a dangerous situation because when your blood sugar levels begin to drop your liver will normally step in and help. It will start by sending out glucose into the blood to help you avoid or at the very least slow down a low blood sugar reaction. However, this reaction will not take place when you have alcohol in your body, because your liver will be focusing all its energy on removing the poison causing a greater risk to you and your health.

If you must drink, drink after you eat and limit yourself to one drink. It’s preferable to drink diet sodas, club sodas, or water. Light beer and dry wines are good choices because they have less alcohol, carbohydrates and fewer calories.

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