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Alcohol Top Tips

John_H

John_H

Active Member
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38
Comrades

Seven months since diagnosis and nearly all is well. Last Hba1C, BG control, BMI and blood pressure all really good. The only problem is booze. I enjoy it, never exceed the recommended limit, have several nights in a row off and have switched from my beloved real ale to low carb red wine or brandy with diet coke. The morning after the night before, my BG is up - 8 or 9 mmol/l is not unusual. Any top tips on how to retain good control and consume alcohol?

Regards

John
 
Good choice of drink, do enjoy a glass of red wine myself :)

I'm not sure about tips apart from checking your bg regularly whilst drinking, I find red wine has a negligible effect on my bg and tend to wake on similar levels that I went to bed on.
 
Same with me with red wine. It does have carbs so if more than 2 glasses it can raise me.. I go low when I drink vodka or scotch with water and a lemon. I have heard diet soda acts like regular sugar but I never drink it so not sure. Perhaps try a distilled alcohol with water and see how that goes. I do test before I drink because it can lower me 20 points and if I'm going in low or not going to eat soon I have to have a snack
 
If I drink spirits it will drop my BG, if I drink beer or wine it's fairly negligible as the alcohol offsets the carbs in the drink.
 
For me vodka is the only alcohol that makes me stable. I always make sure I eat after drinking too really it's just experimenting with what your body can take
 
John_H said:
Comrades

Seven months since diagnosis and nearly all is well. Last Hba1C, BG control, BMI and blood pressure all really good. The only problem is booze. I enjoy it, never exceed the recommended limit, have several nights in a row off and have switched from my beloved real ale to low carb red wine or brandy with diet coke. The morning after the night before, my BG is up - 8 or 9 mmol/l is not unusual. Any top tips on how to retain good control and consume alcohol?

Regards

John
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5 oz of sweet white wine gives me the ability to eat 30 additional net grams of carbs (including the carbs in the wine).

The liver has a one-track mind, so when it is processing alcohol it normally shuts down the background glucose factory. So the only glucose circulating is what you consume - not the additional glucose your liver is adding to keep you from going hypo. By trial and error, I've found that is about the equivalent of 30 grams of carb consumption.

If you do research, the general concern (for anyone taking insulin or a drug to make the pancreas create more insulin) is creating hypos, not becoming hyperglycemic.

That said, there are a number of people here whose experience differs from mine (and from the textbook response). Test cautiously, but don't assume that alcohol alone will elevate your BG (aside from the potential that lowered inhibitions might make you eat more carbs).
 
Hi. Don't take too much notice of your morning fasting level as the overnight liver dump can affect it. Have a look at the level 2 hours after breakfast as well.
 
What a nice and useful lot y'all are. Many thanks. Looking forward to experimenting. Walk first though.
 
Yes protein. I have experimented with guac or raw veggies but half of a hot dog works great ( I eat 100% grass fed) or a little chicken/ turkey, half an egg. All with a little fat

It's not always the alcohol but more what you mix with it

As type 1 if I don't have enough time after an injection I need to eat a little more. But carbs will still raise me, protein keeps me steadier but not a lot or I will spike later. It's like the liver works on the alcohol first but then the protein shows up later, like in the morning. Not always DP, it can be our last meal showing up after the alcohol is gone. So just some small snack is best.

Gotta think about it when injecting insulin. T2 will rarely hypo but easy as T1.
 
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