Alcohol And Diabetes

by Craig Aldridge
(USA)

Alcohol makes it very hard for your body to overcome low blood sugar levels. It moves into your bloodstream at an amazing rate, usually without metabolizing in your stomach. That is why it is possible to fail a blood alcohol test within a few minutes of consuming an alcoholic beverage.

It takes the average person at least two hours to metabolize one alcoholic drink. This process occurs in the liver. In a healthy person, the liver has no problem doing its job, but when you have diabetes, your liver already works overtime changing your stored carbohydrates into glucose so your blood sugar can stay balanced.

When a person with diabetes consumes alcohol, they put themselves at risk of developing low blood sugar. As the liver works to clear alcohol from the blood stream, it focuses all of its attention on the task. That means it isn't available to provide your body with the glucose that it needs, causing you to have a low blood sugar reaction. Drinking as little as 2 ounces of alcohol can lead to low blood sugar in a person with diabetes.

Even taking a shot of Glucagon won't help you overcome low blood sugar if you have been drinking. Alcohol actually renders Glucagon ineffective, so never drink to the point that you need this shot.


Reference:

www.metforminsideeffects.org/metformin-and-alcohol