Alcohol v Carbs v Insulin v Sugars

[Steve 007]

Hi, can anyone explain the impact of alcohol on sugars. I’m on a carb count and inject appropriate amount of insulin lifestyle. I returned from an all inclusive holiday a few weeks ago, where I was having beers (not excessively) regularly during the day but never estimated the carbs and didn’t inject accordingly. When it subsequently came to mealtimes and readings, sugars were not bad at all - mainly in range, and not over range too much - I’d then jab based on carb intake for meal etc and carry on. Now I’m home I’m including any beers in my meal calculations, ie 2 beers is 30carbs, and factor 3 units into whatever the rest of the meal equates to - sugars are now constantly in the above over range and high range category. I’ve never understood the link between it all but can’t understand the seemingly opposite effect of factoring in against not.
Thanks for reading this, hope I’ve got over the gist of what the title means
Steve

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @Steve 007 Alcohol with carbs in it (like most beers) and alcohol with a meal is a really complicated subject. Most diabetics have to gain experience using trial and error.

Edited to remove theory which conflicts with the experience of insulin dependants.

 

[Antje77]

The problem being that the liver processes alcohol before it does carbs ( because alcohol is a toxin). This delays the normal reaction to carbs while the alcohol is still being processed, so it can appear to reduce the BG effect of carbs, when in fact all it is doing is postponing it and stretching it out over a longer period of time.

I thought the body still processed carbs as normal while the liver is busy working on the alcohol. (For what it's worth, I still need to inject for whatever I'm eating, with or without alcohol, and if what you say is correct, I'd assume I'd have to change the timing of my insulin to a later moment. Hypo treatments work fine as well for me when drunk, thankfully!)

As far as I understood the glucose lowering effect of alcohol is because while the liver is busy processing alcohol it stops it's constant trickle of glucose in our bloodstream.
This is also the reason that hypos can be more dangerous after alcohol: the liver doesn't help out with extra glucose. And glucagon doesn't work either when processing alcohol.

 

[In Response]

I have always understood the effect of alcohol as @Antje77 explains - it stops the drip of glucose whilst processing the alcohol.
I have never heard of it “stretch the effect of carbs over a longer period”. This does not reflect my experience. With Type 1, if this was the impact, I would need insulin later when drinking alcohol and I have never needed to do this. However, I have experienced hypos the day after drinking. Therefore, I reduce my basal insulin which is taken to work with the glucose dripped from the liver throughout the day.
@ianf0ster I am intrigued by your theory. Can you provide a reference so I can read more about it?

 

[CatsFive]

Suspect the liver processes alcohol & carbs at the same time, but as alcohol is a much smaller & simpler molecule it works through faster. It's C2H5OH - or C2H6O in some sources. Starch is (C6H10O5)n e.g. lots of copies of C6H10O5 joined togeather.

 

[ianf0ster]

I have always understood the effect of alcohol as @Antje77 explains - it stops the drip of glucose whilst processing the alcohol.
I have never heard of it “stretch the effect of carbs over a longer period”. This does not reflect my experience. With Type 1, if this was the impact, I would need insulin later when drinking alcohol and I have never needed to do this. However, I have experienced hypos the day after drinking. Therefore, I reduce my basal insulin which is taken to work with the glucose dripped from the liver throughout the day.
@ianf0ster I am intrigued by your theory. Can you provide a reference so I can read more about it?

Well, if insulin dependant diabetics find evidence to contrary, the theory (which I read so long ago I don't remember where) must be wrong.
@Steve 007 Sorry, It seems I am mistaken about nature of effect of alcohol on carb response.

 

[KennyA]

I thought the body still processed carbs as normal while the liver is busy working on the alcohol. (For what it's worth, I still need to inject for whatever I'm eating, with or without alcohol, and if what you say is correct, I'd assume I'd have to change the timing of my insulin to a later moment. Hypo treatments work fine as well for me when drunk, thankfully!)

As far as I understood the glucose lowering effect of alcohol is because while the liver is busy processing alcohol it stops it's constant trickle of glucose in our bloodstream.
This is also the reason that hypos can be more dangerous after alcohol: the liver doesn't help out with extra glucose. And glucagon doesn't work either when processing alcohol.

This is my understanding - what gets turned off is the liver attempting to balance blood glucose to where it thinks it should be. As a diet only T2 I don't have to worry about injecting or hypos, and I find the way that a glass of red will flatten a significant BG rise from a carb-heavy meal is quite useful.

Sometimes I seem to have a slightly higher BG next day, sometimes slightly lower.

The excellent NHS dietitian on my "intro to T2 course" made a point of including alcohol and its effects as part of the course - his view was that it's a part of many people's lives and as it does affect health in a number of ways as well as blood glucose levels we'd better know about it.

 

[AppQueen]

Hi, can anyone explain the impact of alcohol on sugars. I’m on a carb count and inject appropriate amount of insulin lifestyle. I returned from an all inclusive holiday a few weeks ago, where I was having beers (not excessively) regularly during the day but never estimated the carbs and didn’t inject accordingly. When it subsequently came to mealtimes and readings, sugars were not bad at all - mainly in range, and not over range too much - I’d then jab based on carb intake for meal etc and carry on. Now I’m home I’m including any beers in my meal calculations, ie 2 beers is 30carbs, and factor 3 units into whatever the rest of the meal equates to - sugars are now constantly in the above over range and high range category. I’ve never understood the link between it all but can’t understand the seemingly opposite effect of factoring in against not.
Thanks for reading this, hope I’ve got over the gist of what the title means
Steve

The number of carbs in beer can vary depending on the brand and type. On average, a regular 12-ounce (355 ml) beer contains around 10-15 grams of carbs. However, some lighter beers may have fewer carbs, while craft beers or stouts can have higher carb content. Always check the label or the brewery's website for specific information about the beer you're interested in.