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Alcohol

B

Barrowbakers

Well-Known Member
Like most people I enjoy my wine and whisky! My query is quantity - and I’m not talking about government guidelines although agree in moderation. My last two HBA1C have been 5.7 and 5.8.
I know if you test after a 3 glasses of wine the bs is reduced but am I doing any harm as long as I don’t regain any of the 4 stone I lost.
In other words does the alcohol react badly with a type 2 diabetic?
 
Not more than in non diabetics, as far as I know, as long as it doesn't give you hypo's later in the night. Only relevant if on glucose lowering medication.
 
There’s possibly an argument to be made that it may exacerbate fatty liver in an insulin resistant diabetic, but I have no idea if that would be true. I am teetotal but that’s just a personal choice.
 
I like a drink but I find the biggest drawback for me if I have a few ciders is increased smoking and all of the implications of that.

I normally test first to see if my bg has enough leeway to handle it as I do with all naughty treats
 
Have found that sweet liquers (sambuca, Bailey's) and beers like my favourites "Guiness" and "Traditional" make blood sugars rise uncomfortably so limit beer consumption to one per week. Red wine (dry) and hard liquor do not seem to appreciably increase blood glucose levels but then again I don't get "likkered" on the stuff. Your blood glucose monitor is your best friend when determining what refreshing beverages you can and cannot (or should not) drink.
 
@tottenham11 It looks like high alcohol spirits like vodka, gin, whiskey, are very low carb but you need to be careful what mixers if any you use. From what I've looked at, 40% and above spirits seem to be okay, but anything below that is more likely to have lots of added flavourings etc including sugar.

I love G&T's but haaaaate diet tonic water, so looks like I'll be switching to vodka, soda and a twist of lemon or lime. Thank god it looks like the Absolut flavoured vodkas are still very low carb.
 
Tequila and carbonated water with a lemon chunk is pretty nice for me, but rum and diet Pepsi/Coke is also a favourite (favorite?). Anything that does not make your blood glucose go up is OK, so some experimentation is likely in order. We Canadians get to spell our words in Bringlish and Ameringlish, either/or...
 
The spiced rum (not tried the other sort) raised my BGs but its quite sweet.

i drink in moderation, rarely more than two drinks because since i started low carbing alcohol seems to affect me very quickly. Nowadays I choose from red wine, dry sparkling wines like champagne, Prosecco or Cava and gin or vodka and slimline tonic. Particularly nice was vodka with Schweppes elderflower tonic. None of these seem to affect my BG - but any kind of beer or - worse - cider makes it go up very quickly.
 
Spiced rum is a favourite of mine but they vary in the amount of carbs. Captain Morgan Original is 0.5g in 50ml, Parrot Bay is about 8g in 50ml. It is very difficult to find carb content you can trust, the likes of FatSecret seem to guesses by members of the public. I would like to try Kraken, anyone with any experience?
 
Adm_Mad said:
@tottenham11 It looks like high alcohol spirits like vodka, gin, whiskey, are very low carb but you need to be careful what mixers if any you use. From what I've looked at, 40% and above spirits seem to be okay, but anything below that is more likely to have lots of added flavourings etc including sugar.

I love G&T's but haaaaate diet tonic water, so looks like I'll be switching to vodka, soda and a twist of lemon or lime. Thank god it looks like the Absolut flavoured vodkas are still very low carb.
Click to expand...

Have you tried with diet lemonade instead of tonic? Not a Gin drinker myself but my sister hates all tonic so has with lemonade
 
Mr_Pot said:
Spiced rum is a favourite of mine but they vary in the amount of carbs. Captain Morgan Original is 0.5g in 50ml, Parrot Bay is about 8g in 50ml. It is very difficult to find carb content you can trust, the likes of FatSecret seem to guesses by members of the public. I would like to try Kraken, anyone with any experience?
Click to expand...

Kraken is my favourite spiced rum, but I haven't tried it since I was diagnosed. I might have to try and experiment with it this weekend to see what it does to my BG.
 
I tried 2 shots of Kraken before bed Saturday night and it didn't seem to make a lot of difference but I also ate some nuts and my morning FBG was a bit higher than I expected (5.9 instead of 5.3). I'll test again later this week...
 
I really enjoy the very occasional dark rum. I will miss this if I can’t have a couple here and there.

I also love Kahlua coffee liqueur and have a fear that I won’t be able to have a few in extreme moderation

I’m newly diagnosed type 2

David
 
My understanding is that the conventional wisdom is that a small amount of alcohol can improve insulin sensitivity, but larger amounts (more than a couple drinks) will not help and likely worsen insulin sensitivity.

https://betterbodychemistry.com/obesity/weekend-beers-insulin-resistance/

https://www.endocrineweb.com/news/diabetes/17936-red-wine-dinner-new-study-says-yes-you-can

There are some studies that suggest that even moderate alcohol consumption can hurt insulin sensitivity.

https://www.endocrineweb.com/amp/18809
 
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