Diabetes and Alcohol

Can a diabetic drink alcohol?

While you need to be careful, as does anyone who consumes alcohol, the American Diabetes Foundation will give you thumbs up to enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage if your diabetes is under control and you are not new to the habit. 

In 2004, the American Diabetes Association documented their position about alcohol and diabetes. In the journal article published October 2004 vol. 1 no. 2 7 it was written that there is no cause and effect relationship documented between alcohol drinking and diabetes. That in people with diabetes moderate consuming of alcohol does not acutely affect glycemic control.

Their official position is that if you choose to drink, no matter the type of alcohol, daily intake should be limited to one drink for an adult woman and two drinks for an adult man; to reduce the risks of experiencing hypoglycemia, alcohol should always be consumed with food.

In addition the American Diabetes Association recommends you ask yourself these three basic questions before choosing to have one drink:

Q1 Is my diabetes under control?
Q2 Do I have heath issues that alcohol can make worse?
Q3 Do I know how alcohol can affect my diabetes.

These are personal question that require personal answers.
If you are unsure, pass on the alcohol.

Hypoglycemia, which most diabetics know, is when the blood sugars drops to unsafe levels. The early warning signs of hypoglycemia are very similar to signs of inebriation. Passing out drunk and passing out from low blood sugar may seem similar to the untrained so we cannot stress enough the importance of monitoring your blood sugar when you choose to drink.

What is one drink?

The definition for one drink is the same as a standard drink be it beer, wine or spirits contains roughly the same amount of absolute alcohol in different overall volume of liquids. That means a 12 ounce bottle of beer, a 5 ounce glass of wine or a cocktail with a shot of spirits (1.5 ounces of booze) all contain about the same amount 
of alcohol and counts as one drink. Now don't believe this allows you liquors - you know the sweet sugary stuff like schnapps or flavored brandies - for those just say no altogether. Why does it differ you may ask? Well the process of distillation can remove most of the sugar from spirits. With liquors sugar is often added for flavor and sweetness. It is important to check the brand as sugar residuals can remain even if the spirit is distilled. 

This definition of one drink is not just for us diabetic drinkers. The Federal Governments departments of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Department of Education, the National Alcohol Beverage Council, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency well as MADD, Mothers against Drunk Drivers all measure a drink he same way. Alcohol, is alcohol is alcohol and there is no scientific basis or other rational for treating distilled spirits differently from any other alcoholic beverages. Yup, a 12-ounce can of beer has the same amount of alcohol as one shot of the hard stuff.



Why just one drink for an adult woman and two drinks for an adult man? Visit our page on the effects of alcohol on the body to learn more.