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Alcohol & Diabetic Diets

Individuals with diabetes must typically follow dietary guidelines designed to help maintain healthy amounts of glucose (sugar) in their bloodstreams. Failure to maintain blood glucose can result in serious disease complications or death. When diabetics drink alcohol, they add another source of potentially fatal complications from inadequate blood sugar control. However, for individuals with well-managed blood glucose levels, limited alcohol intake may be allowed as part of an appropriate diabetic diet.

  1. Understanding Alcohol's Impact

    • According to the American Diabetes Association, if you take medications for diabetes, you should practice extreme caution when dealing with alcohol. Medications such as insulin gain their effect by lowering your body's blood glucose. Alcohol consumption also decreases blood glucose, and in combination with your medications it can drive your glucose levels dangerously low, leading to a condition called hypoglycemia. Your brain needs glucose for proper function, and if hypoglycemia is not recognized and treated, you may experience symptoms including loss of consciousness and seizures. In extreme conditions, hypoglycemia can also lead to death. To make matters worse, the early symptoms of hypoglycemia can closely mimic alcohol inebriation (drunkenness).

    Assessing Your Health Before Drinking

    • Before you can safely consider alcohol use, your blood glucose must be firmly under control. Do not rely on your own judgment to determine if you meet minimum requirements in this area. Speak with your doctor and ask for a frank assessment of your health. If you are a candidate for alcohol use, your doctor will typically instruct you on alcohol's effects on your health, as well as how to recognize signs that your health is deteriorating.

    Alcohol Use Guidelines

    • Prior to taking a drink, you need to check your blood glucose to make sure it is within an acceptable range. If it is, make sure to eat something either before drinking or while drinking. Doing so will help safeguard you from alcohol's glucose-lowering effects. If you are male, you should have no more than two drinks per day. If you are female, you should have no more than one drink a day. If you are 65 or older, limit your intake to one drink whether you are male or female. If you plan to drink more than once or twice a week, or if you end up doing so at a later date, let your doctor know. After drinking, you should re-check your blood sugar before you go to bed. Consult your doctor to learn the equivalent amounts of liquid that constitute a single drink of beer, alcohol or wine.

    Counting Alcohol As a Food Exchange

    • Alcohol has no nutritional benefit, but it does count if you track your diet using a food exchange system. If you use such a system, count a single drink of alcohol as two fat exchanges. If you drink beer, you will also need to add a starch exchange.

    Additional Dietary Considerations

    • If you consume an alcoholic drink that is high in carbohydrates, you may actually raise your blood glucose. Depending on your choices, foods you eat during alcohol use may also increase your glucose. Consult your doctor to learn how to avoid these potentially dangerous possibilities.

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