It generally lowers blood sugars, sometimes drastically which is why consuming alcohol is a tricky business with a diabetic. One needs to eat some carbs prior to the consumption and eat some carbs afterward depending on the level of the blood sugar, but the key is to be testing your blood sugars while consuming the alcohol.
In my line of work in the health profession I know lots of diabetics that consume alcohol to help in controlling blood sugars.....However it doesn't work for all diabetics, probably due to the liver functions taking place.
Just to make things more complicated and to illustrate how individual this disease can be, alcohol raises my sugars. It doesn't matter what kind of alcohol I have -- if I'm not very careful and don't bolus properly to cover the drink, I will go up, specifically a couple hours after consumption. That said, my understanding of the general effect is in line with what others have said -- it tends to lower sugars. Additionally, consumption of too much alcohol impairs the ability to feel lows (and perhaps highs), so that's something else to keep in mind.
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It generally lowers blood sugars, sometimes drastically which is why consuming alcohol is a tricky business with a diabetic. One needs to eat some carbs prior to the consumption and eat some carbs afterward depending on the level of the blood sugar, but the key is to be testing your blood sugars while consuming the alcohol.
In my line of work in the health profession I know lots of diabetics that consume alcohol to help in controlling blood sugars.....However it doesn't work for all diabetics, probably due to the liver functions taking place.
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Just to make things more complicated and to illustrate how individual this disease can be, alcohol raises my sugars. It doesn't matter what kind of alcohol I have -- if I'm not very careful and don't bolus properly to cover the drink, I will go up, specifically a couple hours after consumption. That said, my understanding of the general effect is in line with what others have said -- it tends to lower sugars. Additionally, consumption of too much alcohol impairs the ability to feel lows (and perhaps highs), so that's something else to keep in mind.
Alcohol can suppress the liver and therefore drop blood sugar, sometimes very rapidly. High-carbohydrate beers can raise blood sugar, though.