Can people with diabetes drink alcohol? What kind of alcohol and when is it better to drink it?
Alcohol is brewed from grain by fermentation. Baijiu contains advanced alcohols, fatty acids, aldehydes, esters and other substances, and ethanol is mainly absorbed rapidly in the gastrointestinal tract, and almost all of it is metabolized by the liver, producing carbon dioxide, water and heat, and a small amount of unoxidized ethanol, which is mainly excreted through the kidneys and lungs. liver, muscle and adipose tissue, respectively. In addition, alcohol lacks nutrients such as vitamins, trace elements and minerals.
Therefore, in principle, diabetic patients should not drink alcohol for the following reasons.
1, alcohol can increase the chance of hypoglycemia in patients. Because the energy provided by alcohol is often not effectively converted into blood sugar, but mostly into heat, therefore, drinking alcohol will affect normal dietary control and is not conducive to blood sugar stability, especially for those with poor blood sugar control (frequent hypoglycemia or hypoglycemic symptoms and large blood sugar fluctuations) or those with ketosis or even ketoacidosis, as well as diabetic patients with more serious chronic complications should not drink alcohol. In addition, hypoglycemia that occurs due to alcohol consumption is often easily misdiagnosed and therefore more dangerous.
2, drinking alcohol is not conducive to lipid control, increasing the burden on the liver, long-term alcohol consumption is likely to cause fatty liver and alcoholic cirrhosis, liver damage and dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, etc.
3, drinking alcohol is likely to cause obesity, especially abdominal obesity, leading to insulin resistance.
All of the above are unfavorable to patients, so diabetic patients should not drink alcohol, let alone alcohol abuse. However, some scholars believe that diabetic patients generally need lifelong treatment, to improve and ensure the quality of life of patients, appropriate respect for the patient’s choice should be considered, plus wine can inhibit the breakdown of liver glycogen leading to a drop in blood sugar.
Wine can be consumed in moderation, but the following principles should be followed.
1, the type of alcohol consumption.
Some people think that diabetic patients can only quote white wine, whiskey and other alcohol that does not contain sugar. In fact, low sugar and nutrient-rich dry white, dry red wine is the best choice for diabetics, dry red wine contains a plant pigment component called quercetone, this pigment has a dual role of anti-oxidation and inhibition of platelet coagulation, can maintain the elasticity of blood vessels and human blood flow, so it is not easy to cause heart ischemia, so regular consumption of dry red wine can reduce the incidence of heart disease This is why the French have less heart disease. Dry white wines, although they are of the same “family”, have little to no cardioprotective effect because the quercetin is lost during the production process. However, it is important to pay attention to the quality of dry red wines, which are of low quality due to the addition of coloring for technical or other reasons, rather than drinking dry white wines.
2. The amount of alcohol consumed.
The human liver can metabolize about 1 gram of alcohol per kilogram of body weight per day. The amount of alcohol allowed for a 60 kg person should be limited to less than 60 grams per day. Those below 60 kg body weight should be reduced accordingly, preferably to about 45 grams. Converted into various finished wines should be: 60 degree white wine 50 grams of white wine (about 50 ml), beer 1 pound (about 400 ml), whiskey (about 200 ml). Although red wine is good for health, but you should not drink too much, to 2 to 3 glasses a day is better (about 200 ml).
3. Time of drinking.
Drinking alcohol after 14:00 p.m. every day is safer for the human body, especially at 15-17:00 p.m. is most appropriate. At this time, not only the senses are sharp, and because people eat a lot of food at lunch, so that the sugar contained in the blood increases, the tolerance to alcohol is also stronger. Therefore, drinking alcohol at this time is less harmful to the human body. Morning and morning should not drink alcohol, especially in the morning should not drink alcohol. Because in the morning during this time, the lowest concentration of enzyme-alcohol dehydrogenase secreted by the stomach to break down alcohol, in drinking the same amount of alcohol, more is absorbed by the body, resulting in a higher concentration of alcohol in the blood, in addition, people drink alcohol on an empty stomach, before going to bed or when you have a cold, it is also very harmful to the human body, especially white wine is more harmful to the human body.
4, to protect the liver, such as at least 2-3 days a week to abstain from alcohol.
5, the principle of calorie non-exchange.
The number of calories contained in alcohol should not be included in the total number of calories specified daily for diabetics. In other words, whether or not alcohol is consumed, patients should consume the daily prescribed calories, which is mainly to prevent nutritional deficiency.
6. In conjunction with diet.
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach should be avoided to prevent hypoglycemia. At the same time, care should be taken to control the diet when drinking alcohol so as not to interfere with the dietary treatment of diabetes.
7.Avoid intoxication.
People who are drunk even with a small amount of alcohol should limit their alcohol consumption more strictly under the above general principles of limitation to ensure that they are not drunk.
8.Avoid drinking alcohol when using hypoglycemic drugs.
Because alcohol can inhibit gluconeogenesis in the liver, leading to a lack of liver glycogen, and at the same time can stimulate insulin release, leading to hypoglycemia, more attention should be paid when using hypoglycemic drugs, especially insulin and sulfonylurea hypoglycemic drugs.
9. Monitoring blood sugar.
However, those who have poorly controlled diabetes or even worsened due to alcohol consumption should immediately interrupt alcohol consumption and should adjust their treatment.
Some people believe that drinking a small amount of alcohol can eat less and is conducive to diet control, which is a misconception. Some people also believe that drinking alcohol in moderation can play a role in relaxing the blood and help improve the vascular lesions of diabetes. This view may have some truth, but in general, it seems that alcohol can do more harm than good to diabetic patients. There are different views on the issue of alcohol consumption in diabetic patients, which should be treated dialectically according to individual differences.