alcohol and its effect on BG

[eddymyers]

So...last week we made enough pizza dough with wholemeal flour for 2 pizzas. We made one on saturday night. It had some roast chicken on it, cheddar and mozarella. We had this with some salad potatoes mixed in with mayo (full fat as it has a lower carb content) and a few choppings of chives.

Then on sunday night we made the other pizza with the same toppings. This time the dough has been in the fridge since the previous night. We also had the let over potatoes - again mixed with mayo and chives....

These are my comparative numbers....

Saturday Sunday
18.30 = 6.9 19.00 = 7.0
20.30 = 6.5 21.00 = 11.9
21.30 = 6.5 22.00 = 10.5

You can see quite a difference in the numbers after eating....the difference between the two nights? We had a coiuple of bottles of red wine on the saturday night! YES on the saturday night! It seems the red wine has kept my BG levels lower - and i have experienced this before..

Went out for an afternoon of snooker with a pal and had about 5 pints of Coors light and a chinese meal and my numbers remained low, in fact after all that and i got home i was as low as 4.4 - never been lower than 5 before! Then another time me and my girlfriend went out to a place called 20Twenty and had a 20inch pizza between us with three pints of Bud. then went on and had a bottle of prosecco - my numbers were 6.8 before eating and drinking, then up to 8.4 two hours later, then 7.5 an hour after that, then 7.9 an hour after that, then 7 and hour after that and finally 7.2 an hour later still.

Sorry for the bombardment, just wondered if anyone else has experienced the lowering of BG effect of alcohol?

 

[Martin62]

Yes, I get that as well, might have to see if i can get red wine on a prescription

 

[helli]

When we drink alcohol, our livers focus on dealing with what it sees as poison and will not drip glucose until it has done so. As a result, alcohol can cause lower blood sugars.
For those of us who treat their diabetes with insulin, this can cause severe hypos if we have injected our basal insulin to manage the glucose drip from our liver.

 

[grovesy]

I don't always get the same results with the same foods.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I don't always get the same results with the same foods.

Me neither @grovesy !

It would be interesting to see if this develops as a predictable pattern @eddymyers - so that you can have an expectation of what might happen in different circumstances.

The extent of the BG lowering effect of alcohol seems to vary from person to person, as well as the type and amount of alcohol consumed. Some folks get a very strong reaction, and have to be pretty restrained with the old sauce.

Ales, stouts and porters can have 20g-ish of carbohydrate in a pint. Lagers and ciders can have 10g-ish.

The carb content of dry wines and spirits (with diet mixers) seems negligible.

Soma person‘s response to alcohol can involve a rapid rise from the carbs (eg in beer), and then a prolonged lowering later - especially overnight,

All adds to the fun and games for insulin users!

 

[rebrascora]

I don't see any BG lowering from alcohol, even very low carb options like spirits with a diet mixer, so I assume that my liver is the only bit of me that can actually multitask (I'm not a real woman it seems 🙄)
Not only that but the occasional glass of port (even a very small one) sends my levels into orbit which is such a shame because I love a port with my bedtime cheese.

You probably also have to consider that if you are a more typical Type 2 who is overweight, the alcohol will not help with weight loss and may add to fatty liver issues, so don't get too excited about alcohol as a treatment or cure and indulge too frequently or you may suddenly have a setback. Sorry to be the "party pooper" in the group 😳

 

[eddymyers]

I don't see any BG lowering from alcohol, even very low carb options like spirits with a diet mixer, so I assume that my liver is the only bit of me that can actually multitask (I'm not a real woman it seems 🙄)
Not only that but the occasional glass of port (even a very small one) sends my levels into orbit which is such a shame because I love a port with my bedtime cheese.

You probably also have to consider that if you are a more typical Type 2 who is overweight, the alcohol will not help with weight loss and may add to fatty liver issues, so don't get too excited about alcohol as a treatment or cure and indulge too frequently or you may suddenly have a setback. Sorry to be the "party pooper" in the group 😳

I am not really a typical T2D! 44 years old 5'9" and 61kg. never smoked, play football once a week and train once a week, eat healthily generally.

Another question i have is about 'spikes' and ...well.....i will start another thread....

Thks for the responses - i kinda only posted this one for a 'look at this' type of thing - i am always learning something new about the body, its function and its interaction with food/drink!