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I'm confused

Ardbeg

Well-Known Member
Forum regulars will know that since my diagnosis at the beginning of this year I have changed my drinking habits.

I haven't drank pints of beer or lager since and only very occassionally drank one pint of guiness when out socially.

Tonight I attended a birthday party with some friends and only intended to drink a maximum of two pints of Guinness all evening. I actually drank 4 pints. Then I came home and ate 3 slices of Hovis smothered in Taramasalata.

I've just checked my BG, expecting it to be in double figures and was gobsmacked to see it was only 6.6 :shock:

How can that be?

I know that drinking red wine or whisky is good for keeping the BG down, but surely drinking 4 pints of Guinness can't be responsible for keeping my BG down too...........or can it???
 
And this morning upon waking up my BG level is 7.5, which again for me now is pretty normal.

Ken, I know you drink Guinness yourself, can you explain this?
 
Jim.
I noticed that you took the low reading at 1.21 am.....way past your bedtime...... :lol:

Taramasalata. 4.1g carbs per 100g. 52.9g fat which would slow down the absorption of the starchy carbs, Hovis. 3 slices is a lot.......around 45g carbs in total, Add the Guinness........that night time level was more than likely on the rise........going much higher while you slept. That would no doubt account for the 7.5 fasting level.

I still can't drink Guinness at the moment as Alcohol of any sort was banned whilst on anti-Cancer drugs. Now I am off them I plan to give it a try........celebrate..... I did carry out an experiment with Stella last night........ :wink:

Ken
 
Hi Ken,

I guess I'm not alone in finding all this low carbing plus what to drink and not to drink all very confusing.

Common sense would dictate that drinking pints is to be avoided as all those empty carbs are no good for your weight or your BG levels. That's why I'm so confused over last night's/this morning readings. They were more or less exactly the same as they are when I haven't been drinking alcohol. :?

Of course, perhaps my much stricter eating and drinking regime means that my BG has subsided to a much lower level now.........almost down to normal parameters in fact.
 
Jim.
Me and Stella....... :wink: Stella's Belgian and very tasty........getting on a bit mind you......still I like maturity.......best chilled and then warmed up slowly in your hands.......bliss !

Ken
 
Hi , I drink 6 beers a day .and my glucose levels stay great. Yes alcohol lower glucose levels.
My HBA1C is 5.5. And my fasting is 96 or 5.3.
 
Herman lausan said:
Hi , I drink 6 beers a day .and my glucose levels stay great. Yes alcohol lower glucose levels.
My HBA1C is 5.5. And my fasting is 96 or 5.3.
Click to expand...

So basically you would rather be a cirrhotic alcoholic with good blood sugar control but high blood pressure ? :shock: :shock:
Think I'll stick to the recommended 4 units per day. half a pint is a unit BTW.
 
I'm a brewer myself and have just been diagnosed with Type 2, so the effects of beer on my BG levels have been very much on my mind of late.

Right now, I'm on a pretty strict low carb diet to try and get things under control. Normally, I'd drink 4-6 pints of beer a night, but this week I've had a total of 2.

It seems that the beer does spike my BG level, but after 2 hours it's pretty much back to normal again (this was drinking 1 pint each time and testing before and after).

I wonder what the BG response is in a "normal" person? If someone without diabetes was to drink a pint, then surely it would also spike their BG levels too - and then subside over an hour or two.

I'm hoping that once I get my fasting levels down and stable at 6 or so, that I can bring beer back into my diet - although I know I'll have to cut down on my previous intake....although if I can get away with a pint or two of an evening, and an occasional "session" without too much impact, then I'll be happy.
 
Alcohol is a toxin which is poisonous to the human body, the liver works to remove alcohol from the blood stream but whilst it is doing this it stops regulating glucose as it is busy dealing with the toxin.

The sugars/carbohydrates in alcohol will initially raise blood glucose levels but as the liver stops releasing glucose into the blood while it is dealing with the removal of the toxin, blood glucose levels will drop after an hour or so. Diabetics on insulin should eat a carby snack whilst or after drinking to prevent overnight hypos, I was told this by my DN.

After 5 or 6 pints it may take the liver all night to deal with the alcohol, I did have information showing how long it takes the liver to deal with each unit of alcohol but I have mislaid it somewhere on my hard drive.

I have found that a glass or two of red wine with my evening meal can actually reduce my blood glucose levels through the night and have read of others saying the same thing. Thats my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it
 
Surely six pints of beer a day is too much, diabetes or no diabetes. Even four is a lot, especially if it's a regular thing. Beer unfortunately seems to be "my drink", much as I'd prefer to switch to red wine, so I am dealing with this issue myself.
Lately I've been good at limiting myself to three pints and not drinking every day. That seems to work fine in combination with my diet and medication and generally busy life.
But this past week I've been working at home, spending long hours at the desk, plus drinking more as I'm wrestling with a complicated professional decision and am a bit stressed, and my levels these past few days are up from around 6.5 in the morning to around 7.5. :evil: Not good.
Beer consumption unfortunately has to be kept an eye on.
 
Dobbs said:
Surely six pints of beer a day is too much, diabetes or no diabetes. Even four is a lot, especially if it's a regular thing.
Click to expand...

Well......yes!

It's easy to get out of control when there's hundreds of litres of superb beers in the house though :evil:

I'm now resigned to almost NO beer at all for a while, then a gradual re-introduction while I monitor the effects.

If I can get back to a pint or two a day, in combination with a good diet and exercise, then I'll be happy. I'll probably also have a few "treats" over time, but hopefully planned for before and compensated for afterwards.
 
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