Enjoy your drink even if you have diabetes, but know your limits

Excessive alcohol intake is not good for anybody. But if you are diabetic, it may have fatal consequences. Strike a balance for better health.

Is alcohol good for diabetics or should you avoid it at all costs? This is a debate that has been going on for years. Even experts disagree when it comes to alcohol consumption and its effects on people with diabetes. But most seem to agree somewhat on the theory that moderate consumption of alcohol may be okay if you have diabetes. In fact, one research at Boston University Medical Center says that moderate drinkers tend to have about 30 per cent lower risk of developing late onset diabetes than do non-drinkers.

Anything in excess is not good for health. The same is the case with alcohol. This is true for all people. But if you are diabetic, you have to be even more careful. This is because alcohol can interfere with blood sugar levels. It can also have an impact on the hormones that are essential to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Too much alcohol may also reduce the effectiveness of insulin. If you enjoy your drink and are diabetic, the best way to go about it is to have a frank discussion with your doctor. He can guide you based on your diabetes history.

Drinking in moderation is not so dangerous

A study by researchers from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, low-to-moderate consumption of alcohol may have a positive effect on blood glucose and fat metabolism. This was published in Diabetologia. But experts caution that 'drinking can make you more likely to have a hypoglycaemic episode (known as a hypo) because alcohol makes your blood sugars drop. It can also cause weight gain and other health issues'.

Researchers saw that drinking light to moderate amounts of alcohol decreased the levels of triglycerides (blood fats) and insulin in people with type 2 diabetes. Light to moderate drinking is 20g or less of alcohol per day. This translates to approximately 1.5 cans of beer (330ml, 5 per cent alcohol), a large (200ml) glass of wine (12 per cent alcohol) or a 50ml serving of 40 per cent alcohol spirit (for example, vodka/gin).

Though researchers say that the findings of this meta-analysis reveal a positive effect of alcohol on glucose and fat metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes, they agree that further research is needed to 'further evaluate the effects of alcohol consumption on blood sugar management'.

Alcohol may be an important cause of death in patients with type 1 diabetes

The above-mentioned research gave you the good news. Now the bad news is that, according to another study, alcohol may be one of the main causes of death among patients with type 1 diabetes. This was published online in British Medical Journal. Researchers from Finland looked at both short- and long-term time trends in mortality in 17,306 patients between 1970 and 1999. All patients had type 1 diabetes and were below 30 years of age. They also studied the causes of death over time. They followed the participants for an average of 21 years.

According to them, there was an increasing trend in both short- and long-term mortality due to a rise in alcohol and drug related mortality and acute complications of diabetes. They say that mortality due to alcohol and drug related causes account for 39 per cent of deaths during the first 20 years of diabetes in this group. They also added that proper guidance on alcohol consumption can help patients avoid fatal complications.

Binge drinking may cause insulin resistance

A research on animals at the Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai shows that alcohol disrupts insulin-receptor signalling by causing inflammation in the hypothalamus area of the brain. The journal Science Translational Medicine published the study. According to researchers, binge drinking 'induces insulin resistance directly and can occur independent of differences in caloric intake'.

Things to keep in mind if you have diabetes

If you are diabetic and really enjoy a drink or two, there is no reason to worry. As long as you keep certain things in mind and take the right precautions, your drinking will have hardly any effect on your blood sugar levels. You must, of course, consult your doctor and take his advice.

Remember that, sometimes, drinking can cause your blood sugar levels to go down below normal levels. This happens because your liver concentrates more on removing the alcohol from your blood stream instead of managing your sugar levels. This is a dangerous situation made more so by the fact that you may not even realise that your sugar levels have gone down. The hypoglycaemic symptoms of confusion, blurry vision, dizziness, headaches, sleepiness and lack of coordination are also induced by the high that you get after drinking alcohol.

Sometimes, alcohol may interact with certain diabetes medications. As your doctor if it is safe to drink while taking the prescribed medication. This will save you from unwanted complications. One complication of diabetes is nerve damage. Alcohol can aggravate this condition and intensify the pain, numbness, tingling and other symptoms of nerve damage. It may also increase your blood pressure levels and cause heart diseases.

One thing that a diabetic must always keep in mind is not to drink on an empty stomach. You must always make a conscious effort to sip your drink slowly instead of downing it fast. And, always try to restrict yourself to not more than two drinks at a time.