diabetes & alcohol
Why discuss diabetes and alcohol on this site? Diabetes is a disease that should be taken seriously. If anyone in your immediate family has been diagnosed as having diabetes then you need to be all the more careful and go for regular check ups.
Symptoms
Some of the common symptoms of diabetes include:
- unreasonable thirst
- excessive and frequent hunger pangs
- repeated urination
- fatigue, exhaustion and drowsiness
Diabetes is potentially a life threatening ailment, you need to be very careful and consult your physician at regular intervals.
diet
Diabetes and alcohol can be an unhealthy combination. If you are suffering from diabetes your doctor will probably have advised you to make a whole range of compromises, in terms of your diet – things that you can and can’t eat and drink.
You might not be able to have your favorite chocolate or that heavenly mousse anymore! Even though you might have to do a whole lot of planning and scheduling, taking control of your diet is one of the best ways to lead a normal life, if you are diabetic.
But that is not all, drinking alcohol excessively whilst suffering from diabetes could be very dangerous.
Doctors tell us that even a little bit of alcohol can throw your system haywire and make your blood sugar levels change, drastically and suddenly. The root cause of this is that the presence of alcohol in your blood stream will make it difficult for your body to cope with low sugar levels. The alcohol courses through your blood and doesn’t get broken down very quickly. That’s the reason why if you take a blood sugar test immediately after drinking alcohol you may get a negative result.
Now the question is whether diabetes and alcohol can go together at all?
If you are a diabetic and take regular insulin shots or pills then consuming alcohol can definitely cause low BP. But your body can tolerate social drinking once in a while.
It is crucial however that you consult your doctor before doing anything.
So, if your doctor agrees and you are not a chronic alcoholic and you promise yourself to never drink on an empty stomach, then there is a good chance that your diabetes and alcohol can live harmoniously.
free books or purchase our more in-depth version
You have to remember that your doctor knows about your disease better than anyone else. Seek his or her advice before your introduce any lifestyle changes.
View him or her as an aid that is indispensable for you to lead a normal life, to move beyond your ailment and start over. Respect what he or she tells you – your life could depend on it! Also, we have to be sure that our definitions of social drinking coincide. It definitely does not mean that you can party the night away. You can have a drink or two once in a while. Besides the tricky relationship between alcohol and diabetes, drinking too much can also do damage to your liver. Be smart! Make wise decisions about your health for the well-being of yourself and your family.
