The Saturday Share #15

Doing my part to keep internet diabetes information fun and accurate I’ve been two-timing my blog by answering reader’s questions over at Sharecare as one of their “Experts.”

I’m having a blast, and I’ve decided that every week I’m going to share one of my favorite questions with you here.


Sharecare Question: Can drinking beer lower blood sugar?


My “Expert” answer: Using beer monotherapy to control blood sugar has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. :-)

Drinking beer can lower your blood sugar, especially if you drink a lot of it, but not in the way you want it too. If you really tie one on, not that I’m recommending it, your blood sugar will definitely drop. The problem is that it will drop 6-10 hours downstream when you are sleeping it off. Depending on what other meds you are on for your diabetes, it might even drop you low enough to kill you.

In the mean time, before your blood sugar drops so low that you die, your sugar will actually go up because beer has quite a few carbohydrates. Let’s face it, a can of beer is just a fermented bowl of oatmeal, after all.

But assuming you don’t drink enough to kill yourself, drinking a lot of beer can actually make your diabetes worse because beer has a lot of calories, which can make you fat, which can make your insulin resistance worse, which will make your blood sugars higher, which will kill you very slowly instead.

Don’t get me wrong. Sorry wives of beer drinkers: your newly diabetic husband can still have his beer. But like anything else with diabetes, moderation is the key.

So don’t overdo it. Remember that too much alcohol is a recipe for too low blood sugar. Enjoy all that life has to offer, just enjoy it in moderation.

Cheers!


You can check out other Expert’s answers to this question, and my answers to many more questions by going here:

http://www.sharecare.com/user/william-lee-dubois

Then select the “Answers” tab near the top left.