How to Use Wine in Diabetes Meal Planning

Drinking wine in moderate amounts, alongside a balanced diet, has been shown to be beneficial to health. However, if you have been diagnosed with diabetes and are on diabetes medications that lower blood glucose, you should practice caution when including wine with your meal plan. Drinking wine can cause a drop in blood glucose for up to eight hours after drinking. In light of this information, it appears that diabetes and alcohol can mix, if blood glucose levels are monitored during consumption.

Things You'll Need

• Glucometer

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Instructions

How to Use Wine in Diabetes Meal Planning

• 1

  Check your blood-glucose level. Use your glucometer to ensure that your blood glucose level is above 90 mg/dl before having a glass of wine. Never drink wine when your blood glucose is low or when your stomach is empty.

• 2

  Include carbohydrates in your meal if your blood glucose level is below 90 mg/dl. Foods that contain carbohydrates include starch, milk and fruit. When having a glass of wine, make sure to add at least 30 to 45 grams of carbohydrates in your meal to avoid a drop in blood glucose.

• 3

  Choose a wine that contains few carbohydrates. Dry, red or white wines have the appropriate amount of carbohydrate per serving. Avoid sweet wines such as port wines and sherries. These types of wine have a high amount of carbohydrate and digest quickly, causing a hyperglycemic effect on the body when mixing with food.

• 4

  Limit your wine to the appropriate intake. This means one 5-oz. glass of wine per day for women and two 5-oz. glasses of wine per day for men. Men may have both glasses of wine during their meal.

• 5

  Recheck your blood glucose three hours after consumption of any meal with wine. Consume a snack rich in carbohydrates if your blood glucose is lower than 90 mg/dl.