Beer/alcohol

mibby

Well-Known Member
Messages
47
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
At last! A topic I can post knowledgeably about. :)

I find bitter and red wine fairly neutral. I can drink red wine to huge excess and my blood sugar is still under control when I regain consciousness.

White wine and lager are awful - sugars go through the roof.
 
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mibby

Well-Known Member
Messages
47
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
It's OK, at least up to four or five pints. Cider is a disaster. I had two pints of pear cider at Glastonbury one year: my sugar was about 6 before, an hour later it was 15 then two hours after that it was 1.9. All without food or insulin!!!
 
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ray2

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Our collective wisdom on this topic is impressive. I once read that American or Mexican beers tend to be better the British ales. It may or may not be true but it does seem that I get along just fine with Coors Light and Sol. When I do drink beer it's better if I graze on selected nibbles. This worked well on my stag night up until the point where I left my test kit in a pub toilet.
If I do accidentally 'overdose' on the beer I have a big horrible spike (which makes me grumpy and irrational) then a nasty crash which is most unpleasant !! As for spirits vodka (in moderation) is ok.
 
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MellitusTrap

Well-Known Member
Messages
155
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I heard Diet Coke + vodka may get one intoxicated more quickly. Could be an urban legend.
 

VinnyJames

Well-Known Member
Messages
624
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
This is one of them threads where the difference between type1 and type 2 posters is apparent.
Type 2's don't need a big meal at the end of the night.
 

tim2000s

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
8,934
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Other
This is one of them threads where the difference between type1 and type 2 posters is apparent.
Type 2's don't need a big meal at the end of the night.
Not all type 1s do either. I've found that tended to be rather a myth, and when drinking beer, if you don't dose for it, you really don't need to eat.
 
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cz_dave

Well-Known Member
Messages
448
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Yesterday: 4 glasses of prosecco, 3 glasses of red wine, 2 shots of grappa and 2 shots of rum. BG stable but drunk :)
 

PseudoBob77

Well-Known Member
Messages
231
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Yes, the answer to that is none. After all the alcohol i've drank in 25 years vodka and diet soda doesn't affect my blood sugar (no carb or calories), however, beer, ales, red wines etc play havoc with blood sugar. If you really want a drink to make it go crazy, sambuca, its like pure alcoholic glucose, I remember doing a blood test right after and it makes it spike. Funny thing was my girlfriend at the time, a non diabetic spiked higher than me. Find a non sugary liquor alternative that doesnt send things on a tangent, but that depends if the alcohol makes you hypo. Best thing is to drink infrequently if you cant stabalise your blood sugar after experimenting with all ales and beers. It's all trial and error, you'll figure it, same with fast food and eating out.
 

Fayefaye1429

Well-Known Member
Messages
809
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I've found everyone is different as I struggle readings wise with alcohol. The only drink is vodka for me but an app named cals and carbs has helped me so much with this
 

BrianInMidlands

Active Member
Messages
28
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
A long time ago I used to have liqueurs such as Cointreau, baileys , southern comfort etc when out on work dos as you can imagine my BS were through the roof ! These are probably best avoided - although I'm sure some might disagree !
I now stick to red wine, bourbon/whiskey with diet mixer. Real ale can also cause a big rise.
 

Bishop

Well-Known Member
Messages
48
Hello
I do very well with dry wines, either white or red.
Gin with Tonic zero carbs and Whiskey are also great.
The real trouble is when I want to have beers. I usually do much better with ale and dark beers than lager.
Here is a video I made about what I need to do when I have some beers.

 

Jamie H

Well-Known Member
Messages
126
Not to be sterotypical as a Belfast man. But while guinness is delicious.. I've had to more or less cut it out completely. Have the odd pint now as a treat but other than making me gain weight it's disasterous when it comes to BG levels. The odd corona with dinner. Whisky wine and gin all seem to have no effect on levels. Slice of toast before bed and I'm fine... Other than the occasional sore head!
 

Mr_Pot

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,573
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
For a change I bought some Pilsner Urquell which unlike most beers has a nutrition label on the can. I was suprised to read that it has 5.1g of carbs per 100ml which makes it 25.5g per 500ml which is much higher than most beers. It does say <0.5g of which is sugars, I wonder what the other carbs are? Before anyone suggests I try it and take readings, I have done that and not got any conclusive results either way.
 

Geordie_P

Well-Known Member
Messages
849
Type of diabetes
Type 2
It's all about the carbs. Dry reds are fine, and equally dry white is fine, but whites tend to be more carby. As a rule, wine of 13.5% or above either lowers my levels or has no effect. I wouldn't trust, say, a sweeter Riesling.
Port and sweet sherry are obviously out, but fino or manzanilla sherry is fine. Amontillado is borderline.
Gin, Vodka, Whisky and other spirits drop my blood sugar levels, tequila seems to drop it more than most, but it needs to be the real deal coz cheap stuff can have added sugar- rum likewise: the good stuff is fine, especially white/oro. Brandy/Cognac/Armangnac/Calvados can have added sugar- not much, but still.
All liqueurs are out. Basically all aperitifs- Campari etc- are no good. Pernod and absinthe won't be any good. Ouzo usually has added sugar, so that's out. Vermouth- Martini, Cinzano, Noilly Prat are out
Beer isn't great in general, but as noted above, there's a vast range and vast difference within that range.
Sake is pretty terrible for diabetes, but Shochu is great, Korean Soju likewise, and Okinawan Awamori is also great.
Moutai was fine when I had it last, but there tends to be hidden sugar in many of the Chinese wines.
 

Slaine2k

Active Member
Messages
28
Hi ya all my dad type 1 always has whisky’s with Diet Coke or zero and hasn’t had issues with lvls going higher as I am new to the game I can’t say with my own experience but I have noticed with bitters and a lot of ales now I will get a lot of acid reflux later on in the night don’t know whether that’s down to the diabetes or not