Today I will answer a very pressing question many new diabetics have. Can
diabetics drink alcohol?? I will not only answer that question but
at the very end I'll give you a tip or two on what I drink or request
when I'm in those social settings that we all have to face. And let's just say
this after being diagnosed as a diabetic about four or five years ago,
drinking alcohol it's pretty rare for me. I may have four to the five drinks a year and
that's about it. But the reality is we don't live in a
bubble and it's social events they will revolve around food and drink so it's
inevitable in as a diabetic that we will have those days where alcohol will be
served. So if you're new to the Resilient Diabetic my name is Jay Sampat and I
welcome you. This is where we turn ordinary struggling diabetics into
extraordinary well controlled diabetics. So it's the holidays, Christmas, New
Year's, you're going to a social event, a wedding, special dinner, and there will be
alcohol served. So the million dollar question, how will alcohol affect you as
a diabetic? Can I have a drink or two? But before we begin that question, this must be
asked to your doctor first. Are you healthy enough at your current state to
be drinking alcohol, and only your doctor can answer that. Your main question as a
diabetic is which way that drink is going to move your blood Sugar.
Depending on numerous factors, your blood sugars can actually go in two different
directions it can go up or it can crash and crash hard. And what are they?
First what you ate, that is really important. Two, are you on insulin, are you an oral
medication or sensitizer (metformin). And most importantly what's in your alcohol? So
let's start off with those effects that can drop blood sugars and fast. Drinking
alcohol can cause a drop in blood sugars because remember alcohol blocks the
production of glucose into the liver. The liver stores glucose and
releases it when you're not eating to stabilize blood sugars...... Some points to
really understand here. The pancreas controls blood sugars when you're in the
fed state and the liver in the non fed state. But here's the thing, the liver
has a very limits, and the key word here is limited storage capacity of glucose.
And it releases it at times such as night when you're not eating.
Once the livers glucose stores have been used up and a person has been
drinking alcohol the liver doesn't have anymore to uptake. Why because it's still
in that process of detoxifying the alcohol. So in those scenarios it can
lead to very very very dangerous low blood sugar levels . If one adds
insulin to the equation and they're not eating and the liver has no more glucose
stores you can see what happens severe hypoglycemia! One also has to
take into accounts the oral medications that stimulate the pancreas to produce
insulin just like taking a straight insulin that can lead to hypoglycemia
too. The next question we have to ask which
influences blood sugars, what alcohol is consumed and with what mixer? .... That's
critical..... So light beers and dry wines generally have the fewest calories
and the least amount of carbs then other alcoholic drinks. Distilled spirits vodka,
rum, whiskey, have zero carbs. However.... the the mixers that you put in
there such as vodka and orange juice will raise blood sugars. Liquors neat or on
the rocks or with a splash of lemon lime are quite good options. You can use
sugar-free mixers such as diet sodas, tonic water, club soda, and seltzer water.
Those will not raise your blood Sugar. Just two ounces or 1/4 cup of sweet sour
mix and those are usually mixed for your whiskey sours, your daiquiris, your
margaritas, they'll have about 17 grams of carbs. Now the cream liqueurs your
amarettos drinks will always have sugar added. Lastly remember alcoholic drinks
contain calories. For instance one pint of lager is equivalent to a slice of
pizza. Now onto some tips! If you have diabetes do not drink on an empty
stomach or when your blood glucose levels are low. If you choose to drink
have it with food this is really important for those of us, such as
myself that are on insulin or other diabetic medications that lower blood
glucose. Don't skip a meal if you're going to drink. Now this one is really
important. If you're in a setting and you're drinking alcohol and nobody is
aware that you are diabetic I would suggest that you
wear a diabetic ID or bracelet. Why, because hypoglycemia can be mistaken
for being drunk. Watch out for those craft beers which can have twice
the amount of alcohol and calories as lite beer.
Lastly of course, this goes without saying don't drink and drive!!
Some recent studies have shown that alcohol increases appetite in some
people, it's not rocket science.... Well yeah Duhhhh.... What these studies do show
though however is that there's a greater intake of about three to four hundred
calories when people drink. And for some including myself that's probably the
hardest part because you're gonna want to crave something salty something high
in carbohydrates because of the alcohol. And what's that gonna do?
It's gonna drive up blood sugars. The whole point is that you've got to be
diligent and you have to test blood sugars often. So what is my go-to drink?
I do enjoy your rum your Bacardi and Diet Coke from time to time but I will
tell you this it does drive my blood sugars down. So whenever I do drink
which is rare I have to carefully balance out my food intake, and then also
readjust my insulin down, for both my fast and short acting ones. So those are all the
different factors that come into play when we as diabetics drink. So if you
found this episode helpful I need you to hit those alerts, that gray button that's
the one right at the top of your screen the subscribe button, and if you
like what you heard today please that like button! It is super important for us
new channels the more you hit those alerts the more YouTube's algorithm it's
little computer that runs YouTube promotes this channel, thus the more
diabetics get to see it. That's why I always ask. I'm also curious to know
how does your body handle alcohol? Which do you find to be the best when drank in
moderation. And please feel free to mention those in the comments section below. If
there are any other social topics related to diabetes that you
would love for me to cover also please feel free to mention those too in
the comment section. So have a great day a productive week and
we'll see you soon with another new episode. Usually weekly!!! Bye for now........
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