Type 2 Diabetes - The Effect of Alcohol on Your Blood Sugar Levels
Although it is well known a diabetic should approach drinking alcohol cautiously as it can bring on very low blood sugar, it has only now been discovered how alcohol brings this about.
Researchers uncover how alcohol causes low blood sugar.
A team of scientists from the leading medical university in Sweden, Karolinska Institutet, investigated just how alcohol may cause exaggerated insulin secretion that results in severe hypoglycemia in people who were not even diabetic.
According to the lead investigator Ake Sjöholm, he and his team found when a person drinks alcohol, it causes a substantial influence on pancreatic microcirculation.
It evokes a massive redistribution of pancreatic blood flow from the exocrine into the endocrine or insulin-producing part, via mechanisms mediated by the messenger molecule nitric oxide and the vagus nerve.
This then augments late phase insulin secretion and thereby causes hypoglycemia.
Should a diabetic drink any alcohol? Alcohol induced hypoglycemia is a common problem for those living with Type 2 diabetes.
The mechanism that causes it is as described above, and may also be harmful to the brain as it decreases the blood sugar concentration to dangerously low levels.
So should a diabetic drink alcohol - it depends largely on how you are when you are under the influence.
Some people can't tolerate more than one or two drinks before noticing they feel intoxicated, whereas others have a higher tolerance for alcohol.
Moderation really is the key if you are going to drink alcohol.
And if you do, to avoid a hypo you should never drink on an empty stomach.
It is also recommended people with diabetes and on insulin who plan to drive, abstain from drinking because of possible impaired cognition.
Type 2 diabetics taking any of the hypoglycemic sulfonylureas medications such as glibenclamide need to be aware of the blood sugar lowering (hypoglycemic) effect of alcohol.
Alcohol might provoke sustained hypoglycemia due to these particular drugs having a long biological half-life.
Be a sensible drinker.
The cons of drinking as a diabetic largely outweighs the pros.
In fact, in the pro's list there is little listed.
But if you do drink, be aware any alcohol intake can cause hypoglycemia to kick in at any time after beginning to drink and for up to the following 24 hours.
So ensure you check your blood sugar before you are due to begin drinking and do not drink if your reading is low.
Anywhere between 100 and 140mg/dL (5.
5 and 7.
8 mmol/L) is considered a good reading.
Also ensure you take in food before and during the time you are drinking alcohol.
And finally, be aware the symptoms of alcohol excess and hypoglycemia are similar, such as:
D.
tag identifying you as being diabetic can help to ensure you receive food and medical help if necessary and help to prevent people just brushing off your symptoms as drunkenness.
Researchers uncover how alcohol causes low blood sugar.
A team of scientists from the leading medical university in Sweden, Karolinska Institutet, investigated just how alcohol may cause exaggerated insulin secretion that results in severe hypoglycemia in people who were not even diabetic.
According to the lead investigator Ake Sjöholm, he and his team found when a person drinks alcohol, it causes a substantial influence on pancreatic microcirculation.
It evokes a massive redistribution of pancreatic blood flow from the exocrine into the endocrine or insulin-producing part, via mechanisms mediated by the messenger molecule nitric oxide and the vagus nerve.
This then augments late phase insulin secretion and thereby causes hypoglycemia.
Should a diabetic drink any alcohol? Alcohol induced hypoglycemia is a common problem for those living with Type 2 diabetes.
The mechanism that causes it is as described above, and may also be harmful to the brain as it decreases the blood sugar concentration to dangerously low levels.
So should a diabetic drink alcohol - it depends largely on how you are when you are under the influence.
Some people can't tolerate more than one or two drinks before noticing they feel intoxicated, whereas others have a higher tolerance for alcohol.
Moderation really is the key if you are going to drink alcohol.
And if you do, to avoid a hypo you should never drink on an empty stomach.
It is also recommended people with diabetes and on insulin who plan to drive, abstain from drinking because of possible impaired cognition.
Type 2 diabetics taking any of the hypoglycemic sulfonylureas medications such as glibenclamide need to be aware of the blood sugar lowering (hypoglycemic) effect of alcohol.
Alcohol might provoke sustained hypoglycemia due to these particular drugs having a long biological half-life.
Be a sensible drinker.
The cons of drinking as a diabetic largely outweighs the pros.
In fact, in the pro's list there is little listed.
But if you do drink, be aware any alcohol intake can cause hypoglycemia to kick in at any time after beginning to drink and for up to the following 24 hours.
So ensure you check your blood sugar before you are due to begin drinking and do not drink if your reading is low.
Anywhere between 100 and 140mg/dL (5.
5 and 7.
8 mmol/L) is considered a good reading.
Also ensure you take in food before and during the time you are drinking alcohol.
And finally, be aware the symptoms of alcohol excess and hypoglycemia are similar, such as:
- sleepiness,
- dizziness, and
- feeling disorientated.
D.
tag identifying you as being diabetic can help to ensure you receive food and medical help if necessary and help to prevent people just brushing off your symptoms as drunkenness.
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