This happens when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or does not respond to insulin as it should. Alcohol impairs your liver’s ability to produce alcoholism glucose, so be sure to know your blood glucose number before you drink an alcoholic beverage. That sort of double impact can cause blood sugar levels to drop to dangerously low levels, a condition known as hypoglycemia. Your liver will choose to metabolize the alcohol over maintaining your blood glucose, which can lead to hypoglycemia. The liver often makes this choice when you drink without eating food—so consider snacking while you sip. Take a look at the numbers and you’ll find that only moderate drinkers have less cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes Food Hub
Finally, our study is the first to build dose-response relationships stratified by BMI. These results were based on a limited number of studies reporting sex- and BMI-specific risk estimates. Alcohol and DiabetesThe liver contributes to blood glucose regulation by storing carbohydrate in the form of glycogen and releasing glucose—by glycogenolysis or gluconeogenesis—to the blood when levels are low. However, alcohol oxidation can override the liver’s role to store and release glucose. All people with type 1 diabetes are at risk of hypoglycemia after drinking, and many people with type 2 diabetes—especially those taking diabetes medications that have the side effect of low blood sugar—also are at risk.
Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists
When this happens, your diabetes and alcohol blood sugar can drop too low, which is known as hypoglycemia. On the other hand, if you have lots of food and then drink too much, your blood sugar can get too high. Alcohol can cause flushing, nausea, increased heart rate, and slurred speech. These symptoms can be confused with or mask the symptoms of low blood sugar.
- An organ in your body called the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that controls the levels of your blood sugar.
- However, substantial information on the association of alcohol and cardiovascular disease exists from population studies that included an unknown percentage of diabetics.
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Salah Alrakawi
Glucagon kits, widely used to treat hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes, do not work as well if someone has alcohol in their system. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) unawareness occurs when someone with diabetes has a drop in blood sugar but doesn’t recognize the symptoms. As you mull these ideas, keep in mind that much remains to be learned about how alcohol affects people with diabetes. Warehousing glycogen, the stored form of glucose, is among the many tasks your liver performs. The glycogen stays there until your liver breaks it down for release to address low blood sugar. “You need to know if your medications or any diabetes-related conditions you have could be seriously affected by alcohol consumption,” emphasizes Harris.
- Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking treatment because of something you have read on this website.
- It may be safer to avoid sugary booze — and safer still to avoid any alcohol in the first place.
- The mechanisms underlying the development of alcoholic ketoacidosis are complex.
For example, Arky and colleagues (1968) studied five diabetics who experienced severe hypoglycemia after ingesting alcohol. In all five patients, the alcohol-induced hypoglycemia induced neurological changes, such as incontinence, inability to follow simple commands, perseveration,4 disorientation, and impairment of recent memory. In three patients, those changes did not reverse, even after months or years. The two other patients died as a result of complications indirectly related to their hypoglycemia-induced neurological changes. Therefore, to avoid alcohol-related hypoglycemia and its consequences, diabetics should consume alcohol only with or shortly after meals.
You may want to talk to your doctor to see if drinking alcohol is safe for you and get guidelines based on your specific health concerns. It is critical for those with diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels closely when consuming alcohol. Managing alcohol consumption is crucial for individuals with diabetes to prevent complications.