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Beer

Wil burn

Wil burn

Well-Known Member
Messages
175
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Other
Newly diagnosed, not had any beer since seeing the diabetes nurse. She told me not to drink because of its high sugar content. Anyone got any advice on what beer to drink or do I just leave it alone? Had a couple of gins but it's not the same. Thanks in advance for any advice
 
Not a drinker (of alcohol) myself, but there are some low carb beers around, if you hunt for them. I doubt if they taste marvellous, but may be better than nothing.

Others on here have switched to spirits, or wine, because they don't affect bg in the same way as beer (aka liquid bread).

The body processes alcohol differently from carbs, so low carb alcohol is often OK. But you would need to read up on it carefully to understand how to utilise the loopholes ;)

Try this for starter links:

http://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/facts-diabetes-alcohol

http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/drinking-alcohol
 
I do have half a pint now and then but I pay for it later with high blood sugars.

I can take a glass of wine with a carbohydrate rich pasta dish and not inject too much insulin as the alcohol content helps to keep blood sugars down.
 
I used to drink lager but it's full of carbs I only have a drink twice a week! So now its vodka with diet coke I am used to it now and it still gives me a nice head on at the end of the night. Hic
 
Great! So vodka is ok too. I've only been drinking G n T . Don't mind it but its nice to have an option. I've heard that Holsten Pils is ok has anyone tried it?
 
The human body is a machine designed to take in proper beer and then excrete lager!

Unfortunately, I think Pils might be low carb for a beer, but that's still pretty high. I had a bitter a few days ago that sent my blood reading way up. On the other hand, I tried Theakston's Mild today and it hardly moved my sugars at all. That will be worth another experiment soon ;)

I'm a big fan of real ale - attending festivals etc. I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's something I just can't do anymore.

So I'm a red wine drinker now. I've noticed a pattern in my morning BG that it's lower the morning after I've had a few slurps.
 
GeoffersTaylor said:
The human body is a machine designed to take in proper beer and then excrete lager!

Unfortunately, I think Pils might be low carb for a beer, but that's still pretty high. I had a bitter a few days ago that sent my blood reading way up. On the other hand, I tried Theakston's Mild today and it hardly moved my sugars at all. That will be worth another experiment soon ;)

I'm a big fan of real ale - attending festivals etc. I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's something I just can't do anymore.

So I'm a red wine drinker now. I've noticed a pattern in my morning BG that it's lower the morning after I've had a few slurps.
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Thanks Geoff. Its hard to except but it looks like I will have to. I loved stella and loved nothing more than an afternoon session with the lads watching the football. How many glasses of red do you drink?
 
Wil burn said:
Thanks Geoff. Its hard to except but it looks like I will have to. I loved stella and loved nothing more than an afternoon session with the lads watching the football. How many glasses of red do you drink?
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I'll have a bottle a few times a week.
 
Two weeks ago we went to local n I had a few vodka n diet cokes, the diet coke was from tap n next day BG was high, same ystrdy. Is it real diet coke?
 
Evelynross said:
Two weeks ago we went to local n I had a few vodka n diet cokes, the diet coke was from tap n next day BG was high, same ystrdy. Is it real diet coke?
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If you have a blood glucose meter, you can test it yourself.
Just use a drop of the coke instead of blood.
I don't think it will be accurate, but you will know if it reads any sugar at all, that the drink ain't diet!
 
Wil burn said:
Brilliant! Thanks Phil. Couple of 4.2 there, look really good. Gonna give em a try.
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Hiya mate, marstons low c is a bottled beer similar to pale ale, it`s a bit gassy but something like 4.7 abv and 1.6 g carbs for a 225ml bottle. Worth a try.
 
Stella Artois has just 3 ingredients and is less than 0.5g of sugar per pint but obviously the carbs come into play. Alcohol lowers some people's blood sugars by all accounts, I'm still learning.
 
Tfqleeds said:
Stella Artois has just 3 ingredients and is less than 0.5g of sugar per pint but obviously the carbs come into play. Alcohol lowers some people's blood sugars by all accounts, I'm still learning.
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Stella is my favourite drink. Might try a couple and see what happens to mine. Thanks
 
When I was holidaying in Spain this summer I had a couple of Cruzcampo and it didn't appear to have any huge affect on my BG.
 
I have found that red wine seems to have a positive effect on my morning B.G. readings insofar as they are slightly lower than normal.
Also spirits are fine with virtually no carbs,and I use canned diet lemonade or diet cola at home as it can be chilled and doesn't go flat like a big bottle.Sainsbury's diet lemonade is sweetened with Sucralose and so no Aspartame and Acsesuflame K which is a bonus.Still looking to find a similar diet cola.If you are out just insist on canned diet mixers and choose a spirit to match what they have.I would not trust to a mixer gun wielded by the average bartender!
Beer is more difficult but I have recently been testing!!! If that is the correct term with Coors Light. A 440 ml can is around 7.5g carbs as far as I can work out.The really low carb stuff freely available in the U.S. is really difficult to get here sadly.I seem to be able to tolerate a few without too much of a spike.I treat it the same as a meal ie try to stay within 2 points of my starting point.
Overall the body's reaction to alcohol is to flush the bloodstream through the kidney to reduce alcohol concentration in the blood.Hence trips to the gents.It also appears to remove excess glucose at the same time.I think the ideal position would be to try and balance this out so you can enjoy a couple of drinks with yer pals.
Coor's is ok and not dissimilar to Stella, although I am not an aficionado of lagers.
Also don't forget lots of calories in alcohol of any sort.

Testing required :-)
 
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