Alcohol in type 1 and type 2 diabetes: effect on the body

No one knows when alcohol appeared, but it has become an integral part of our lives. Many people can hardly imagine celebrating various events without alcoholic beverages, and they simply resort to it to relax, cheer up, and chat with friends. Ethyl alcohol is widely used in medicine as an antiseptic externally, in the preparation of extracts, tinctures, solvents for medicines, and as part of anesthetics. Infrequent moderate consumption of a quality drink does not cause much harm to the body and does not cause addiction to it. But its active substance ethanol is a by-product of glucose metabolism, so the question arises: is it possible to drink alcohol with diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2?

The effect of alcohol on the body in diabetes

Doctors do not have any categorical prohibitions regarding alcohol for diabetics, but they insist on certain rules for its consumption. The thing is that alcohol reduces the production of glucose and its entry into the blood, and also enhances the effect of insulin and other hypoglycemic agents. This effect can lead to an uncontrolled and sharp drop in sugar - hypoglycemia. In addition, strong drinks cloud the mind and you can either miss an injection or pill, or violate the required dose. Alcohol increases the load on the liver, increases blood pressure. And it is also high in calories, provokes appetite and overeating, which is undesirable with a disturbed metabolism. Therefore, there are tips that must be followed:

• Before drinking alcohol, eat foods that are high in fiber and complex carbohydrates to slow down the absorption of ethanol;
• limit yourself to the recommended volume;
• do not finish heavy physical work, gym sessions, or sauna relaxation with alcohol;
• keep your sugar levels under control and adjust your insulin dose based on the effects of what you drink;
• At the first symptoms of hypoglycemia, expressed in excessive sweating, weakness, trembling of the limbs, confusion, drink sweet water.

What alcoholic drinks can you drink if you have diabetes?

There are hundreds of alcoholic beverages in grocery stores, which of them can be drunk with diabetes? Let's consider individual types from the numerous assortment:

• beer — the alcohol in it does not allow it to be included in the list of recommended ones, but it also has a positive aspect — the use of yeast in production. Yeast has a beneficial effect on the body due to the large amount of proteins (52%), fatty acids, vitamins, and important microelements in its composition. With their help, metabolism and hematopoiesis processes are normalized, and the liver functions better. They are used in many European countries for the treatment and prevention of diabetes. Despite this, the frequency of beer consumption should not exceed twice a week in a dose of 300 ml. There are also non-alcoholic varieties designed specifically for diabetics, they can be drunk without limitation, only taking into account carbohydrates;
• dry white wine - among their large variety, this contains the least sugar (0.3%), while fortified wine contains 8-13%, dessert wine - 25-30%. The main requirement for it is naturalness, high quality. Studies have proven that drinking dry wine in reasonable limits returns the sensitivity of cells to insulin, unless the sugar in the recipe exceeds 3%. The maximum single volume for women is 150 ml, men - 200 ml three times a week after meals;
• Vodka - of all strong drinks it has the least sugar. When ingested, it even reduces the level of glucose in the blood, but this does not happen immediately, but after some time. This is a dangerous moment, because a person takes medications for this, an additional decrease in it can lead to a sharp drop in glucose and end in a coma. If you take into account this effect of alcohol and snack on carbohydrate food, then once a week you can drink 50-100 g of vodka. Doctors warn that it is unacceptable to constantly maintain sugar levels with its help, because this will lead to alcoholism, which is fraught with serious health consequences.

What should you not drink if you have diabetes?

There are types of alcohol that diabetics should forget about. First of all, we are talking about fortified, dessert wines, sweet liqueurs. Among sparkling wines, sweet champagne should also be excluded, and preference should be given to dry, semi-dry, brut.

Contraindications

Diabetes mellitus, as a rule, often has concomitant diseases: inflammation of the pancreas, kidney pathologies, heart disease. Contraindications to alcohol consumption are associated with the presence of:

• pancreatitis;
• liver pathologies;
• renal failure, diabetic kidney tissue damage;
• diabetic neuropathy;
• gout;
• frequent hypoglycemic conditions;

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Possible risks

The fact that alcohol lowers glucose can be a disservice to a diabetic. It affects each person differently depending on food, degree of fatigue, and features of the digestive system. It is impossible to predict how long it will take for sugar to decrease, since a diabetic still takes medications during meals to prevent sharp jumps in glucose. Due to a large dose of alcohol, he may simply not be able to control his condition. The consequences of alcohol consumption can develop in the following directions: hyperglycemia (high sugar levels), hypoglycemic coma (negatively affects brain activity), and other pathologies caused by the progression of diabetes. Diabetes mellitus and alcoholism are incompatible, the latter will do its dirty work - it will continue to destroy the pancreas and lead to death.

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