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Diabetes & alcohol

U

Upya

Member
Messages
6
I just wondered how everyone else manages with this.

I am newly diagnosed with type 2 and I have been finding the diet ok but alcohol a real stumbling block.

When I first got diagnosed, I was getting daily mmol/l readings of 21+ which I managed to get down to 11 after 2 weeks and my first HBa1C was 12.8. However I had a few beers on Sunday watching football and my readings where 23.7 the next day and I felt like total ****.

Is this the end of my lager drinking days? Is there a lager brand that I can have? Will vodka and pure orange juice be a better alternative (can't stand diet cokes or tonic)?

How does everyone else cope?

I gave up smoking in Jan 07 without to much bother, but I am really struggling with this and would appreciate any advice you can give me.

Many thanks in advance.

Lee
 
Hi Lee,

Beer (and lager) has a very high sugar content so unfortunately will send your sugar levels soaring. You need to develop a taste for wine, particularly red wine, which is fermented out to have almost no residual sugar. Alcohol in general has the effect of lowering blood sugar, and red wine contains other things that also help in lowering cholesterol.
 
i'm not sure I can offer much advice as I'm on insulin and manage drinking alcohol in not a recommended way.

but just to point out that drinking the orange juice will cause a spike in your blood sugar so is unlikely to be the way to go.
 
Lee, Dennis is right about the beer I'm afraid.
Don't despair though, Holsten Pils is virtually carb free if you need a fix.
Otherwise, red wines, dry whites, and spirits with diet mixers for you I'm afraid.

Cheers,

fergusc
 
Thanks for the advice everyone!

It's good to know that I have the redwine option in the back pocket, although I am not sure how long it would take to train such an uneducated palate as mine, lol.


I thought that perhaps vodka and pure orange juice would be the lesser of two evils if you see what I mean.


Interesting you mention Holsten Pils, as someone suggested this to me, but there is so much conflicting information online about it, it has left me a little confused.

They say it is low in carbs but bad for you as it is high in alcohol, now I may have this totally wrong, but as I am type 2 and not on medication, is the high alcohol level such a bad thing (apart from for my waistline)?

I am quite partial to a bottle of pils or two, so would be great if I could have that, I have also read that Miller (formally miller lite) is recommended, due to being low in carbs.

I guess the good thing is that I can buy a few of both and compare levels, for medicinal purpose of course.

Thanks again the help, I really do appreciate it.
 
Orange juice is a BAD idea - full of fruit sugars and will cause it to rise more than beer.

If you prefer spirits try vodka with diet coke or lemonade or gin with slim line tonic or soda water!

LJ
 
Sorry just seen you don't like tonic or diet coke. Ooops. Soda water with squeeze of lime?

Would imagine orange juice is a no-no...



LJ
 
Quick update, had an experiment on Friday night and had some Holsten Pils and some vodka and diet iru-bru.

Both very nice and when I tested BG the next day it wasn't sky high like it is on lager.

It was actually 12, it was 15 the day before and 13 the day after.

So I think I have found my solution to my alcohol predictiment.

Thanks all for your help again.
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

I believe that Miller light is the lowest carb freely available beer at .7g per 100ml (about 3.8g per can compared to 11.19 for pils) I think that there is a misconception that the stronger beers have less carbs as all the sugar has been brewed out, this is not the case and i believe that h. pils may fall into the latter category. Remember that beer stimulates insulin production so if you are on tablets you must take extra care when consuming large amounts of alcohol.
My personal preference is red wine but I drink miller when at the pub.

Your reading of 12 the day after isn't really very good, what is it without the lager? try for 7, I know that this isn't always possible, but 12 is really high and needs dealing with.

Sorry to go on I am T2 aged 57 also like a drink, have been diagnosed for 7 years, now on just metformin, was on 4 tabs of gliclazide, knowledge is the key in assisting your body in coping with this condition

Good on you for not smoking.

Beer UK pint(568ml)

Marstons Low C 3.41

Bindings Diat Pils 3.98

Miller Lite 4.26

Michelob Ultra 4.43

Coors Light 7.55

Corona Light 8.63

Amstel Light 8.63

Holsten Pils 11.19

Becks 11.36

Carlsberg 15.34

Stella Artois 16.76

Budweiser 17.32

Foster's Lager 17.61

credit to sati at
lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-161164.html
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

Also, Upya, I don't mean to put a downer on things, but you do realise that the readings you are getting anyway are way way too high?

Although obivously 12 is better than 22, in general, they should be between 4-7 at all times.

What are you on in terms of medication? What's your diet like?

You may need to consider cutting down your carbohydrates considerably to bring your levels back into good shape.

Cheers
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

I switched to Holsten Pils a while ago but still felt lousy after a few tins - suspect that was the alcohol content rather than the sugars though. I find Miller Lite ok but I must confess over the years I have actually pretty much given up on alcohol and now choose to drive so no-one questions when I drink pints of soda with slice of lime or lemon (dirt cheap night out!!!).

I used to drink pints of diet-Coke but I gave that up as I spent many nights until the early hours staring at the ceiling, wide-awake from the caffeine. I've never tried Low-C; might be worth a go sometime.

I have deep sympathy for you - I really miss my Guinness but having been diagnosed four years ago and realising why a few pints appeared to give me a Class 1 hangover (I must have had bonkers bsl levels following five pints of Guinness and a Chinese take-away), your attitude changes.

Less alcohol, more simple, soft-drinks (limited cordial splashes etc), go easy on the spirits and you will be surprised how you can get through social evenings without too much stress. Best of luck.
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

Judicious use of alcohol is beneficial for diabetics (especially type 2).

Alcohol inhibiots liver gluconeogenesis. The liver in type 2 DM produces 3 times more glucose (gluconeogenesis) than in normal people. I find my lowest morning readings after a few glasses of red wine the night before. Red wine probably has benefit for our cardiac health as well- important as 70% of diabetics will die from a cardio-vascular incident.

The problems are obviously from having to much. Masking hypo symtoms is a real worry for me and tempers my ex-medical student need to get sozzled. I do worry about the alcohol effects on the emerging fatty liver problems associated with diabetes.

I have only had two night time hypos - the worst was after 1 largish glass of vino collapso. (BS 1.9).

The gluconeogenesis thing is not so much an issue for Type 1- probably makes for more problems for that class of diabetes and alcohol.
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol


My problem is that my bs is too high, the lowest has been about 3.5, but usually 8/9. What do you do it it is too low - you say has been 1.9!!!
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

Hypo 1.9- I just emptied the fridge that night....

If you are out drinking spirits with mixers, the mixers should be full sugar. You will get temporarily high then normalise later on.

For me, wine is a form of insulin sparing, especially after bigger meals.

MB
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

Im a type 1 for only 3 weeks now and it was my birthday on Saturday and i decided to have a drink, i was mainly drinking red wine with a couple of beers thrown in! as i get a bit fed up with drinking red wine all night, i stayed up to watch the boxing which didn't start untill 03:00 am, so this gave me chance to keep an eye on my blood sugars to see what happened. To be fair it was ok, i think the main thing is to make sure you have a decent meal before you start drinking and get some slow release carbs before you hit the sack.

Im out again friday so i'll keep you posted :lol:
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

Hi all,

Just picked up on this thread and I like others now realise that beer/lager is not the way forward due to largely increased sugar levels for a few days after a night out.

Has anyone actually tested a night out on just say vodka & diet coke. How does it affect the sugars during and after?

Cheers
Paul
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

T isn't that often that I have a pint, if I do it is real ale. If it affects my levels, then so be it. I enjoy a couple of pints.
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol


Spirits inhibit glucose production, so you usually drop if all you drink all night is mixers. It's better than hitting 20 in the morning though, so just grab a big bag of chips or a king doner on your way home and you should be fine.
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

Thanks lianrampant - got an all day sesh next week at ascot so I will give it a go then!
 
Re: Diabetes & alcohol

My friends helped me prevent the condition but it was too late for them. Our diets was bad and we got help. Any information you will need can be found here
 
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