Does alcohol lower blood sugar in diabetics?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States alone, about 30 million people have diabetes [source needed]. And as you may already know, one of the key issues for diabetics is their blood sugar level.

Alcohol is often associated with lowering blood sugar levels in non-diabetics which has led people to wonder: does alcohol lower blood sugar in diabetics? What are the effects of alcohol on a diabetic’s health? Well my dear readers, let us dive deep into this topic and find out!

What Happens To Blood Sugar Levels When You Drink Alcohol?

Before we can answer if alcohol lowers your blood sugar level, it’s important to understand what happens when you drink an alcoholic beverage.

Alcoholic beverages contain carbohydrates that get broken down into glucose (a type of sugar) once consumed by your body. Your body then releases insulin, a hormone essential for regulating glucose metabolism. Insulin allows cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream and uses it as fuel or stores it for later use [source needed].

While this may not be problematic for non-diabetic individuals whose bodies produce enough insulin naturally – this reaction can be dangerous for people who have diabetes due to their inability to process glucose effectively.

People with type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin at all while those with type 2 diabetes are either unable to produce enough or unable to respond properly [source needed]. This means that consuming drinks high in carbohydrate content raises their risk factor significantly

Now back on track; does drinking an alcoholic beverage result in lowered blood-sugar levels? The answer would differ from person-to-person and case-to-case basis:

Lowers Blood-Sugar Levels In Some Cases

In certain scenarios where alcohol consumption was moderate – consuming approximately two standard drinks per day – studies found that there was indeed a drop in Insulin levels and Hypoglycemia. [source needed]

Raises Blood-Sugar Levels In Other Cases

Conversely, other research shows that drinking alcohol may cause a sudden spike in blood sugar levels for people with diabetes because of the carbohydrates present. The sugar content causes an immediate but temporary insulin boost (so your body can process the incoming glucose). So when trying to maintain healthy blood-sugar levels it’s wise to drink only moderately or even not at all.

Thus, there are multiple scenarios at play as different human variables come into occurrence: e.g tolerance levels, amount consumed, calorie-intake etc – this is why you may hear differing views on whether Alcohol lowers or raises Blood Sugar.

Effect Of Alcohol On Diabetic’s Health

Sure I’ve piqued your curiosity regarding how alcohol affects blood-sugar level.. but what about other comorbid factors concerned within Type 2 Diabetes patients?

There are several effects – both positive and negative; from consuming high amounts of processed beverages including:

Risk For Damage To Organs

The liver processes much of our consumptions after consumption of certain foods/liquids with it being primarily responsible for breaking down toxins like Glycol & Fructose naturally present in many alcoholic drinks.. however during unison-consumption with pre-existing diseases (like Diabetes) lead to damages chronic Fatty Liver or Cirrhosis.

| # | Alcoholic beverage | Carbs Content 
| ---|---|----
| 1. | Beer (12 oz.)     |13 g
| 2. | Sweet wine(5 oz.)        |15 g
| 3.   |- Regular Rum (1 jigger)|0g

(literature suggests that hard liquors low on carbs such as tequila / rum tendence often appear safe.)

Contributes To Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices

It’s widely known that alcohol is high in calories, also you may feel hungrier after drinking which exacerbates the problem. Drinking can be a slippery slope when it comes to eating right and exercise.

Lowers Inhibitions

Many modern diabetics will face the challenge of adjusting their lifestyle entirely based on their condition, this leads to multiple counselling sessions or other approaches – losing inhibitions could lead to unhealthy choices thus alcohol consumption for already-diabetic people often considered unwise.

Conclusion

There you have it folks.. There isn’t an easy answer here unfortunately due variety of circumstances combined with personal modes-of-consumption & pre-existing health conditions it really IS complex. However taking everything into account, we would advise anyone diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and consumes medical prescriptions towards safer side effects by refraining from binging/partying-excessive drinks.

The worst thing you can do is make changes without consulting your doctor first; they’ll provide essential guidance around what’s right for YOU as an individual so Do consult!