 Facts about alcohol that diabetics should know:
- Alcohol contains lots of calories and doesn’t contain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are important for maintaining good health. Your doctor can discuss with you whether it is safe for you to drink alcohol and its amount.
- People who are going to lose some excessive weight have to account for the calories in alcohol. Your dietitian can provide information about the sugar and alcohol content of various alcoholic drinks.
- Diabetics have to remember that alcohol on an empty stomach can cause low blood glucose or hypoglycemia. People who us oral medications or insulin for diabetes are at high risk of hypoglycemia. Mixing these medications with alcohol can cause shaking, dizziness, and collapse. People who are not aware of someone’s diabetes may mistake these symptoms for drunkenness and neglect to seek medical help.
- Oral diabetes medications, like tolbutamide and chlorpropamide, can result in dizziness, flushing, and nausea when combined with alcohol. A doctor can advise patients on the safety of drinking when taking these and other diabetes medicines.
- Frequent heavy drinking can lead to liver damage over time. As the liver accumulates and releases glucose, blood glucose level may be more difficult to control in a person with liver damage from alcohol.
- Frequent heavy drinking also can increase the levels of fats in blood, in such a way increasing the risk of heart disease.
You have to remember that alcohol affects blood glucose levels. In fact, you can avoid such problems, adopting following suggestions:
- Don’t forget to eat your regular meals and take your medications.
- Take your blood glucose meter and low blood glucose treatment supplies with you when going out.
- Make sure that you know what to do if you have a low blood sugar problem.
- When you drink alcohol try to eat carbohydrate foods.
- Always pour your own drinks. And measure how much alcohol is in your drink.
- In order to reduce alcohol content dilute your drinks with sugar-free mixers.
- Ensure that you always carry your diabetes identification.
- You should avoid liqueurs, sweet wines, sherry, port, and cocktail mixes because they contain high amount of sugar.
- You can mix hard liquor with sugar-free soft drinks, and dry wine. They contain a small amount of sugar.
| 
