Diabetes And Alcohol Consumption
Being diagnosed with Diabetes is a life changing event. As yet there is no cure for the disease and this means you will have diabetes for the rest of your life. You have to adapt and live with the disease.
In order to treat diabetes you will have to check your blood sugar level each and every day. You will either have to inject insulin or take some form of medication to make the body more responsive to insulin. Above all, you should try to get more exercise and control what you eat and drink.
Apart from taking control of your body's insulin production, watching what you eat and drink is probably the hardest thing to get used to. Most people have been used to eating what they want and having to rein this in feels like a serious degrading of quality of life. however, once you have got used to a few basic rules, planning a diabetic meal plan is quite easy.
One thing that many adults with the disease wonder about is whether alcohol and diabetes is compatible. How does alcohol affect the body and can a diabetic consume alcohol like someone that doesn't have the disease. This article will cover these issues.
There is no restriction on consuming alcohol for a diabetic provided it is in moderation. Many alcohol beverages will have lots of calories and sugar in them. This has two effects. It will increase the blood sugar immediately and promote weight gain over the long term. Being overweight or putting on weight increases the chances of having other complications as a result of diabetes. Most doctors will advise diabetics to lose weight or keep their weight within a specific range of this.
The liver metabolizes alcohol once it gets into he bloodstream. It can take up to two hours to process an ounce of alcohol depending on the size and shape of your body. While it is doing this it stops making glucose.
Whilst this happens, there is a chance that the blood sugar level can become low. A person with low blood sugar may be hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemic people often feel tired or light headed. They may even pass out if the blood sugar is very low. This is why you should never drink on an empty stomach.
So for anyone about to drink alcohol, a small snack should be taken beforehand. This is particular relevant to diabetics and they should try to keep their blood sugar levels as stable as possible. A snack will cause the liver to create glucose and put it into the bloodstream before alcohol enters the body. If you take any diabetes pills then you shouldn't drink for a few hours after or as the prescription advises.
Be temperate with your alcohol consumption. Alcohol has no real benefits to the body in terms of nutrients. For diabetics it will only cause spikes in your blood sugar levels. this is ultimately bad for the body as it will increase the chances of further diabetic complications affecting you. In particular, your circulation will get worse and this could lead to numbness in the feet, damage to the nerves and problems with the cardiovascular system.
A glass of wine with dinner is fine. A few drinks as part of a celebration of some sort is also fine. As you grow used to treating your diabetes you will know how your body reacts in various situations. This can help you to know when and how much alcohol you can consume.
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Learn more about health problems caused by type 2 diabetes and how the diabetes glycemic food index can help you create diabetic meal plans.
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