Diabetes and Alcohol

Thursday, 09 May 2013 15:47 Darlene Jameson

Is It Safe To Sip?

Alcohol and Diabetes

As the warm weather and summer months approach, thoughts may be turning to outdoor events and festivities, such as barbeques, holiday parties, and weddings. Many times these occasions include opportunities for socialization and often involve alcoholic beverages. The decision to drink is very personal and many factors need to be considered. Some basic questions to ask yourself before taking a drink include:

Is my diabetes under good control?
Do I know how alcohol can affect me and my diabetes?
Do I have health problems that alcohol may make worse such as nerve damage (neuropathy), high triglycerides, or high blood pressure?
Do my medications interact with alcohol?

If you answered yes to the first two questions and no to the last two, an occasional drink is probably okay. This means no more than one alcoholic beverage per day for women and no more than two per day for men. One alcoholic drink is defined as a 12 ounce beer, 5 ounce glass of wine, or 1 ½ ounces of liquor. If you have diabetes it is important to talk to your health care provider about whether or not it is safe for you to consume alcohol. If your doctor says it is okay, there are a few other things to consider before taking a drink.

If you have diabetes and take insulin or oral diabetes pills, your risk for low blood sugar is increased when you drink alcohol. One of the functions of the liver is to break down alcohol. The liver also releases glucose into the blood when glucose levels start to drop. When the liver is breaking down alcohol, it can’t release glucose into the blood and your blood sugar my get too low. Insulin and oral medications also lower blood glucose. The combination of the two can cause you to wind up with blood sugar that is especially low. To protect yourself from low blood sugar, plan to have your drink with a snack or meal. Some good snack ideas are pretzels, popcorn, crackers, fat-free or baked chips, raw vegetables and a low-fat yogurt dip.

If you are counting carbohydrates, focus on the fruit juice, mixer or soda that is added to the drink. Better yet, choose calorie-free drink mixers such as diet soda, club soda, diet tonic water, or water. Alcohol should be counted as fat. Both alcohol and fat have a similar effect on the liver, so one alcoholic beverage should be counted as two fat exchanges or 10 grams of fat. Also remember to account for the calories in alcohol – especially if you want to lose weight.

Another factor to consider with alcohol is that it may lead to snacking and eating unhealthy foods which can derail any weight loss efforts you may be making. Try to stick to the recommended portions of alcohol and have your drink with a meal or snack that fits into your meal plan for the day.

It is important to note that some symptoms of too much alcohol, such as sleepiness, dizziness, and slurring, can also be signs of low blood sugar. Therefore, if your glucose drops, it may appear as if you’ve had too much to drink. The best way to avoid this confusion is to always wear some form of medical identification that states you have diabetes.

Some helpful guidelines to follow if you choose to include alcohol are:

Drink only if blood glucose is under control.
Do not drink on an empty stomach
Check your blood glucose before you drink
Sip your drink slowly to make it last
Alternate an alcoholic drink with a no calorie, non-alcoholic drink or water.
Try wine spritzers to decrease the amount of wine in the drink.
Do not drive or plan to drive for several hours after you drink alcohol.
Check your blood glucose before you go to bed; it should be between 100 and 140 mg/dL.
If you drink alcohol several times a week or more, make sure your doctor knows this before he/she prescribes a diabetes pill.

Last Updated on Thursday, 09 May 2013 15:53

Minority Health and Diabetes

Friday, 19 April 2013 19:26 Grace Terrell

In April 2001, the National Minority Health Month Foundation launched National Minority Health Month, in response to Healthy People 2010, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ health-promotion and disease-prevention initiative. This is an inclusive initiative that addresses the health needs of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans and other minorities.

Today, Healthy People 2020 has succeeded Healthy People 2010, and the Foundation has become the National Minority Quality Forum. The health profile of the United States has changed, as have responses to it.

April remains National Minority Health Month, commemorated every year nationally and in a growing number of states and localities. In celebration of Minority Health Month in April, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Office of Minority Health & Health Equity (OMHHE) links to several CDC activities bringing awareness to and highlighting efforts towards the advancement of health equity.

The CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) announced their newest program: The National Program to Eliminate Diabetes Related Disparities in Vulnerable Populations. This five-year program has been developed to:

Reduce morbidity and premature mortality,
To eliminate health disparities associated with diabetes in many communities and regions across the country.
The program will fund six organizations to mobilize, empower and assist community partners in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating community-based interventions to reduce the risk factors that influence health disparities associated with diabetes.

While National Minority Health Month lasts for one month, taking charge of your health is an everyday mission. The goal is a healthy you!! Call your local health departments for more inquiries.

Welcome to TriDiabetes.com

This web resource was developed by a group of health professionals from Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties in Maryland in coordination with the American Diabetes Association. We focus on educating, preventing, and guiding the local community of the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland on their own individual risk of developing diabetes. The resources here can be used to help better inform everyone of the dangers of undiagnosed, and untreated diabetes.

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