Alcohol and Diabetes

People with diabetes should be careful about including alcohol in their diets.

Drinking alcohol

People with diabetes should be aware of the effect that alcohol can have on blood glucose. It can tend to push your glucose down, with varying effects. If you’d like to include some alcohol in your meal plan, be sure to talk to your diabetes educator or dietitian about the impact. If you are using a diabetes medication, check with your physician before you drink alcohol. Don’t forget that alcohol is also high in calories, an important consideration if you’re trying to control your weight.

Only drink moderately. One drink per day for a woman and one or two drinks per day for a man would be considered moderate alcohol consumption. Alcohol itself does not contain sugar. However, alcoholic drinks do have carbohydrates – beer is made from grain, wine from grapes, and mixed drinks often have syrups and flavorings.

Be sure to include the totals in your carb counting or diet plan. It’s best to drink with food, and also be sure to count the drink as part of the total meal.

If after eating you start to feel weak -- even 12 to 16 hours later -- don’t assume that you’re just a bit “tipsy.” The alcohol may be leading to low blood glucose. Check your blood glucose to be sure.

Wine used in cooking is usually not a problem, since most of the alcohol burns off. Although wine does have carbs, it shouldn’t add much carbohydrate per serving if it’s used just for flavoring.