Is it OK for people with diabetes to drink alcohol?
People with diabetes should be cautious about drinking alcohol.
Too much alcohol can make blood sugar levels fall too low.
Drinking even a small amount of alcohol on an empty stomach can
lead to a very low blood sugar. If you take insulin or diabetes
pills, you have an even greater risk for low blood sugar because
alcohol increases the effects of the medicine. Also, some
medicines, including those for diabetes, can interact with alcohol
and cause serious and potentially life-threatening problems.
Always ask your healthcare provider about possible drug
interactions before you drink alcohol.
What are the other effects of drinking alcohol when you have
diabetes?
Alcohol can make some diabetic health problems worse. If you have
nerve damage in the arms or legs (neuropathy), eye disease, high
blood pressure, or liver disease, drinking any amount of alcohol
can make these problems worse. Drinking heavily over time can
cause nerve damage.
People with diabetes are at risk for high blood pressure. Drinking
too much alcohol increases blood pressure. High blood pressure can
worsen diabetic complications, such as kidney failure,
retinopathy, and heart disease.
Diabetics who have high levels of triglycerides in their blood
should not drink alcohol. Drinking even small amounts of alcohol
can cause the liver to make even more triglycerides if you already
have high levels.
What are the guidelines for drinking alcohol if I have diabetes?
If you have trouble controlling your blood sugar level or you have
complications from diabetes, you should never drink alcohol.
If you do drink alcohol, your blood sugar is in good control, and
you do not have any complications, follow these tips:
- Never drink alcohol on an empty stomach. Always eat a meal or
a snack that contains carbohydrate (starch, fruit, or milk)
before or with your drink. If you are involved in a social
physical activity, such as dancing, eating enough carbohydrate
food is especially important because exercise also lowers the
blood sugar level.
- The general guidelines for how much alcohol is safe to drink
are the same as for people who don't have diabetes. Research
shows that drinking alcohol in moderation has been associated
with some health benefits. Drinking alcohol is a personal
choice that should be based on your current health, other risk
factors, and your healthcare provider's advice. One drink a
day if you are a woman and 2 drinks a day if you are a man are
considered to be moderate levels of drinking. One drink equals
one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or a shot of one
and one half ounces of spirits.
- If you cook with alcohol, use regular drinking wine, not
cooking wine. There is less sodium in the drinking wine. Cook
the food slowly so that the alcohol has time to burn off.
- Always wear a diabetes alert bracelet or necklace because the
signs and symptoms of low blood glucose and intoxication are
similar. Make sure your companions know that you have diabetes
and know that if you are acting drunk, you may actually be
having a low blood sugar reaction that needs to be treated.
Tell them how to help you when you are having low blood sugar.
- Monitor your blood sugar often. Keep a high-carbohydrate snack
or glucose tablets on hand to treat low blood sugar.
- Combining alcohol with exercise can cause blood sugar to go
dangerously low, even hours after the physical activity. It is
better to quench your thirst with water rather than alcohol
before, during, and after exercise.
How do I fit alcoholic beverages into my meal plan?
Drinking alcohol can make it harder to lose weight. On its own,
alcohol is high in calories. Factor in the extra calories that you
may get from eating snacks, meals, or mixers to avoid low blood
sugar and you can easily go over your calorie limit for weight
loss. Either avoid alcohol altogether or use the following tips to
fit the added calories better into your meal plan.
- If you do not take insulin, the calories from alcohol can be
substituted for some of the fat portions in your diabetic meal
plan. (Most meal plans allow for 3 to 6 fat portions per day.)
Your body breaks down alcohol in a way similar to how it
breaks down fat. Each drink is equal to 2 fat portions, or
about 100 calories.
- If you take insulin, you can occasionally add up to 1 or 2
drinks to your daily meal plan. No food should be omitted from
your usual eating plan because of the greater risk for
hypoglycemia with insulin use.
- Make your drink last longer by combining wine with no-calorie
mixers such as club soda, sparkling water, or diet soda for a
spritzer. Try to drink slowly.
- As a rule, choose alcoholic beverages and mixers that are
lower in alcohol, carbohydrates (sugars), and calories.
Examples are dry or light wines; light beers; and sugar-free
mixers such as diet soda, water, seltzer, club soda, and
low-salt vegetable juice. Avoid sweet wines, wine coolers, and
sweet liqueurs, such as Irish Cream. They are high in
calories, sugar, and carbohydrate.
- A good alternative is to drink nonalcoholic beer or wine.
Check labels. Count every 15 grams of total carbohydrate in a
beverage as 1 carbohydrate choice in your food plan.
Listed below are the calories, carbs, and meal plan equivalents
for different alcoholic drinks.
Serving Calories Carbohydrates Meal Plan
(grams) Equivalent
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Distilled spirits (vodka, whiskey, rum, etc.)
1.5 ounce (oz) 105 negligible 2 fats
Wine - Dry White or Red
4 ounces 80 to 90 0.5 to 1 g 2 fats
Light Wine
4 ounces 50 to 60 1.5 g 1 fat
Sweet Wine
2 ounces 90 7 g 0.5 carb choices
1.5 fats
Wine Coolers
12 ounces 190 23 g 1.5 carb choices
3 fats
Beer, Regular
12 ounces 150 15 g 1 carb choice
1.5 fats
Beer, Light
12 ounces 70 to 100 3 to 7 g 1 to 2 fats
Nonalcoholic Beer
12 ounces 50 15 g 1 carb choice
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For more information, visit the American Diabetes Association Web
site at http://www.diabetes.org or call 800-342-2383.
Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to
change as new health information becomes available. The
information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a
replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or
treatment by a healthcare professional.
HIA File BEHA4718.HTM Release 11.0/2008
© 2008 RelayHealth and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
© 2008 RelayHealth and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
