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Alcohol

SockFiddler

SockFiddler

Well-Known Member
Messages
623
Location
Bristol
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I'm getting the hang of the food, and I'm surprised at how easy it's been to cut out the majority of my "obvious" carbs (potatoes, bread, pasta, rice) in just under 2 weeks - am down to around 120g/day from... well, let's just say "more", eh? :D

So I'm turning my mind to the less obvious carbs, like the ones tucked away in veg and fruit and in everyday things that it's easy to take for granted - that spoonful of sugar in my cup of coffee; the batter on a piece of fish. And the thing I can't seem to find any guidance on is booze.

(From here on in, let's just accept that everything said is bearing NHS / good drinking habits etc in mind and that I'm not soliciting advice so that I / anyone else reading can go on a mad low carb, high booze binge.)

The website I use for my grocery delivery gives no nutritional info about alcohol so I have really no idea what's a "good" drink and a "bad" one (again, see above). Common sense tells me that anything that has been fermented will contain sugar so should be avoided - wine, beer, cider eg - but what about spirits?

And, of course, let's say vodka is brilliantly low carb - there are still the mixers to consider.

It's all a bit of a minefield, really, and I'm hoping someone can lay it out for me or point me towards a resource that will tell me what I'm now able to drink without breaking my carb limit.

Many thanks!

Sock x
 
Spirits are the lowest carb and can be mixed with water or sparkling ( fizzy) water if no carbs no Cal's. Some use sugar free mixers but I don't like artificial sweeteners

I just switched from vodka to white wine and see a definite increase in bs. Adjusting insulin acorrdingly now. Or at least trying to.
 
Champagne, dry wine and spirits are fine for my blood sugar though have to moderate for weight loss.
My weekend treat is a whisky and I'm educating my palatte in single malts. On cold winter weekends I treat myself to a low carb bailey's which is yum.
 
..... and red wine in moderation is great for the biome. And yes, I've just finished reading Michael Moseley's book on gut health, fascinating info and advice.
 
I'm okay with red wine, fizzy white (Prosecco, Cava, etc) white wine is okay too - but it gives me heartburn unless I have it with food. I also enjoy a gin and tonic - sugar free tonic - and none of these drinks elevate my BG at all - in face quite often it goes down - although I wouldn't suggest swigging a bottle of Prosecco each time your BG goes up.... too expensive. :)

A tip: If you are thinking about any kind of mixer when you are outside your own house do ask to see the bottle to check you are being given 'diet' as mistakes do happen with busy bar staff (happened to me) - and never buy it at all if it comes out of one of those gun dispenser things.
 
Red wine for me. Full of antioxidants and very good for the heart, also said to lower cholesterol. Zero carbs in moderation and no mixers required.

Most spirits are OK with zero sugar mixers.

Dry white wine OK but not sweet.

Notice none of us mention beer! There is a reason for this, although there are some low carb beers. You can Google for these.

Alcohol should ideally be drunk with a meal and not on its own.
 
All fab and fast replies - thank you!

I don't go out (or drink) very often, really, but with a birthday next month and a gathering of friends (outdoors - picnic type affair) it seems a tipple or two may be called for.

Good advice about the dispenser - I hadn't thought of that.

Am also delighted that I can enjoy my super-fancy bottle of rose Prosecco in the fridge - am fine with giving the rest of my wine away to friends, but was looking forward to that one!
 
Robkww said:
Good post, we should all remember to live and not just survive - have a bit of fun!
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Yay!! So true.
I was drinking vodka rocks because it lowered my bs but I was drinking too much. Before that I was drinking red and caused tummy distress and heartburn. Now testing whites and thinking Chardonnay is my fav but it does raise bs a bit ( quantity last night didn't help)
So for me now I'm going to take a little insulin at 5 when we have a drink and add some cheese to slow the carbs. Haha. There's a reason for cheese.

Then I may need an extra unit of basal. Right now it's all worth it.

I can say my stomach, head, and heartburn are much much better with white

Learned something about reds that I have to try. Apparently reds from Italy Spain and France are much easier on the body. Less preservatives and something else I don't remember. I'll try that in colder weather.
 
Wines, spirits, if it tastes sweet, it is sweet. Many have sugar added along with flavours after fermentation/distillation.
If it tastes dry, enjoy.
If you want a beer, Coors light is probably as good as you'll get most places.
Most commercial wines have sulphate added, organic is better normally.
 
SockFiddler said:
It's all a bit of a minefield, really, and I'm hoping someone can lay it out for me or point me towards a resource that will tell me what I'm now able to drink without breaking my carb limit.
Sock x
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Aside from my supermarket website which as you say doesn't always have complete nutritional info, I use the app. called Nutracheck. It's a free for 7 day trial on the full version and then reverts to the Lite version if you don't pay to upgrade to the full one. However I only use it for carb counts and that's all there on the Lite version.
 
Hi, have a look at diet doctor.com gives some good examples of the amount of carbs in drinks including alcohol. I find red wine, prosseco and champagne good, mother in laws home made wine as lovely as it is not good. Anyone know the carbs in pimms or black sambucca? X
 
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hca said:
Hi, have a look at diet doctor.com gives some good examples of the amount of carbs in drinks including alcohol. I find red wine, prosseco and champagne good, mother in laws home made wine as lovely as it is not good. Anyone know the carbs in pimms or black sambucca? X
Click to expand...
There you go @hca
 
On my Desmond type course someone asked what was recommended as a drink for diabetics. I don't think they meant alcoholic but the DN didn't hesitate and said Gin and Slimline Tonic.
 
Found this. If i drink alcohol ( not beer tho) my sugars can go down quite sharply, but also then bounce back higher
Also saw something small scale that was investigating the way the body reacts to artificial sweeteners, and it found a group of students drinking spirits with diet mixers were 27% more ****** than another group of students drinking the same amount of booze with full sugar versions of the mixers


Sugar in alcohol
Alcoholic drinks account for 10% of 29 to 64 year olds in the UK’s daily intake of added sugar, and 6% for over 65s.2 Despite this, many people forget to factor in what they drink when calculating daily sugar intake. All alcoholic beverages contain some sugar, but Dr Sarah Jarvis, a member of Drinkaware’s medical panel, identifies fortified wines, sherries, liqueurs and cider as being particular causes of excessive consumption. It’s also important to consider what you’re mixing your drinks with, as the carbonated drinks popular with spirits are often very high in sugar.


Alcohol and diabetes
The effects of alcohol on blood sugar, in particular hypoglycemia, can make excessive drinking very dangerous for anyone with diabetes. Alcohol can also make hypoglycemic medications less effective, meaning those with diabetes need to take extra care when drinking.

In addition to this, Dr Jarvis warns that alcohol with high sugar content can lead to ‘hypoglycemia unawareness’. In other words, people with diabetes sufferers who have been drinking won’t notice the warning signs of low blood sugar. “This results in a much higher risk of the most dangerous kind of hypos in which blood sugar is very low and there are significantly higher risks of cardiac arrhythmia, brain damage (and) myocardial infarction,” says Dr Jarvis.
 
Mr_Pot said:
On my Desmond type course someone asked what was recommended as a drink for diabetics. I don't think they meant alcoholic but the DN didn't hesitate and said Gin and Slimline Tonic.
Click to expand...

I had many of those before I diabetic, very popular in some circles.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Notice none of us mention beer! There is a reason for this, although there are some low carb beers. You can Google for these.
Click to expand...
I drink a low carb beer here in Australia, XXXX Gold, I also like single malt whisky, and drink the occasional bottle of red wine as well.

BHJSlbB.png


https://www.xxxx.com.au/our-beer/xxxx-gold-australian-lager/
 
Straight up bourbon for me. No need to worry about mixers.
With the added bonus that it usally lowers my FBS.
And the odd glass of Red wine.
 
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