Light beer which lowers blood sugar levels

[Rory4144]

This is my first question and it may well have been answered before so a pointer in the right direction would be helpful as I am confused.
The aim as a newly diagnosed Type 2 is to lower my blood glucose levels and this is something which I have been managing to do over the past 3 weeks since being diagnosed. I had my first reading under 5.0 yesterday so feel I'm on the right track. However, I read that drinking alcohol reduces blood sugar levels. Why is this not a good thing? it is after all what I have been trying so hard to do for the last 3 weeks. If the odd light beer can help then this isn't the nightmare I had originally believed it was!

 

[Lamont D]

This is my first question and it may well have been answered before so a pointer in the right direction would be helpful as I am confused.
The aim as a newly diagnosed Type 2 is to lower my blood glucose levels and this is something which I have been managing to do over the past 3 weeks since being diagnosed. I had my first reading under 5.0 yesterday so feel I'm on the right track. However, I read that drinking alcohol reduces blood sugar levels. Why is this not a good thing? it is after all what I have been trying so hard to do for the last 3 weeks. If the odd light beer can help then this isn't the nightmare I had originally believed it was!

No sorry, nothing I've read leads to that conclusion.
However, a glass of red wine with a meal won't push up your blood glucose levels up much.
Most alcohol is made from grains and they certainly do raise bloods.
Well done on your readings, keep it up!

 

[Gezzabelle]

Well done on your efforts so far On the drinking thing I think beer is not considered good but the odd glass of wine may help?....not entirely sure but am sure someone will be along shortly to advise you better than I can. Have a feeling beer is not so good though and it could play havoc with your readings.

 

[Totto]

I have no problems BG wise with dry wines. Beer is a bit trickier though. I think @Wil burn has done some experiments on beer and BG that I find interesting.

 

[britishpub]

As with all things, everyone is different and it is what your Meter tells you that matters most.

 

[RuthW]

It can reduce your blood sugars, but it's a bit unpredictable. And if you use it too much, you get fatty liver, so it becomes lose-lose.

 

[Rory4144]

http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/drinking-and-type-2-diabetes.aspx

Quote from above article: "...Dr. Ruxin explains, “Alcohol slows down your liver’s ability to produce sugar during the fasting state or overnight, which is when our sugar levels drop to the lowest [level.]” Honick adds that if you drink alcohol before you’ve eaten, your blood glucose level will start dropping, and that’s a problem. “The liver will be unable to release the necessary glucose into the bloodstream to correct it because it has to focus on clearing out the alcohol first.”

I can see its probably not a good idea but I don't want glucose in my in my bloodstream. Do I?

 

[freddy2]

I found both light and full strength needs watching and it's better to be high when drinking.

 

[RuthW]

I don't know. Are you in ketosis all the time? If not, then you definitely have some glucose in your blood, and that is as it should be. The question is only how much do you want. Certainly not a lot.

If you are in ketosis, it is a slightly different question: what is the interaction of ketosis and alcohol in the blood? I have no idea. Maybe some of our low-carbers can help. (But given that even low-carbers are eating 30-80g carbs a day, they also definitely have some glucose in their blood, and that's not including whatever comes from protein.)

 

[hankjam]

As I understand it there is a lot more unconverted sugar in beer than in wine but I could be wrong.
Test and see.
I've not bothered with beer since diagnosed,

still drink about 10 units of wine in a week, always with evening meal, and it does not appear to affect my BG.. though what is actually happening during sleep.... I have no idea. My FBG are okay and do not appear to be influenced by wine or water at evening meal.

Test and see....

 

[tgchand1]

As I understand it there is a lot more unconverted sugar in beer than in wine but I could be wrong.
Test and see.
I've not bothered with beer since diagnosed,

still drink about 10 units of wine in a week, always with evening meal, and it does not appear to affect my BG.. though what is actually happening during sleep.... I have no idea. My FBG are okay and do not appear to be influenced by wine or water at evening meal.

Test and see....

 

[Larissima]

I was rather taken aback when I read in Dr Bernstein's book that the morning glucose dump is reduced after an evening drink because "alcohol paralyses the liver". I don't really want my liver to get paralysed!

Having said that, I have had an occasional drink since diagnosis (a glass of red wine, or champagne), mostly with festive meals, and the next day's BG was as usual. Not sure if any conclusions can be made.

 

[tim2000s]

I was rather taken aback when I read in Dr Bernstein's book that the morning glucose dump is reduced after an evening drink because "alcohol paralyses the liver". I don't really want my liver to get paralysed!

Having said that, I have had an occasional drink since diagnosis (a glass of red wine, or champagne), mostly with festive meals, and the next day's BG was as usual. Not sure if any conclusions can be made.

This is also why weight loss is really hard if you have a couple of glasses of wine a few nights a week. It stops the liver from processing fat as it processes alcohol toxins and the liver is single threaded.

Moral, you want to lose weight, don't drink!

 

[Magisham]

Don't know about beer, but my partner (type 2) had a few whiskies during a family barbeque. He wasn't careful at all that night...... he had white bread, potatoes, some dessert ....... and his blood sugar was fine when he tested it before bed. Mentioned it to his doctor, who said "A few whiskies won't hurt you". I have read that whisky can lower blood sugar. Wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis, but a drink now and again would probably be okay. He will sometimes have a beer, but not often.

 

[sunspots]

I haven't tested yet but I think gin suits me fine. I avoid beer as I thought it was essentially 'liquid bread'? There are plenty of carbs in beer but spirits have them all turned into lovely alcohol which I think, if I remember my biochemistry, doesn't produce glucose (I might be guessing here though after my 2 large gins...)