Alcohol and diabetes: Effects, blood sugar levels, and guidelines

Throughout, where possible, we have highlighted limitations of various approaches which may complicate data interpretation and provide suggestions for future research opportunities in this area. Accordingly, more studies are needed to determine whether the beneficial effects of daily moderate alcohol consumption outweigh the deleterious effects. Diabetics clearly should avoid heavy drinking (i.e., more than 10 to 12 drinks per day), because it can cause ketoacidosis and hypertriglyceridemia. Moreover, heavy drinking in a fasting state can cause hypoglycemia and ultimately increase diabetics’ risk of death from noncardiovascular causes. Cardiovascular disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death among all Americans and is the leading cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes (Bierman 1992).

2. Insulin Secretion and Plasma Concentrations

• Heavy alcohol consumption increases ROS production and may be a mechanism of pancreatic β-cells dysfunction in T2DM.
• In human volunteers, acute alcohol decreased the glucose arterial-jugular vein difference suggesting a reduction in total brain glucose uptake [76].
• If you are following a calorie-controlled meal plan, one drink of alcohol should be counted as two fat exchanges.
• Accordingly, these medications help control blood sugar levels without causing hypoglycemia.
• With type 1 diabetes, the body does not create (or creates too little) insulin, which requires insulin intake through injections or a pump.

Nevertheless, it would be wise for GLP-1 users to remain careful with alcohol. Drugs in the GLP-1 family, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, are known to provoke vomiting — just like excessive drinking. Drinking alcohol can be an especially dangerous activity for people with diabetes — here’s why.

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Different from the divergent reports for muscle, data consistently show that neither acute nor chronic alcohol impairs basal glucose uptake by adipose tissue determined both in vivo [12,14,71] and in vitro in isolated adipocytes [72]. Moreover, the lack of an alcohol effect on basal glucose uptake was observed in both perirenal and epididymal fat deposits [14]. These findings are consistent with the lack of an alcohol-induced change in the major transporter responsible for noninsulin-independent glucose transport in fat, GLUT1 [72]. In contrast to the numerous studies on the acute effects of alcohol on hepatic gluconeogenesis, only two studies have examined de novo glucose production by liver from animals chronically consuming an alcohol-containing diet.

Is it safe to drink alcohol with diabetes?

For example, in humans fasted ~12 h (i.e., overnight), alcohol does not typically alter the blood glucose concentration [6,7,8,9,10,11]. Likewise, euglycemia is maintained in overnight fasted rats [12] and mice [13] after acute alcohol intoxication. Moreover, there is little evidence of acute alcohol-induced hypoglycemia in humans or animals under the more physiological relevant condition of adequate nutrition [14,15,16]. In contrast, a severe and sustained hypoglycemia is elicited when alcohol is acutely administered to humans [9,17,18] or animals [19,20] fasted ~3–4 days. Thus, hypoglycemia would only be anticipated in humans with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who also have a relatively poor nutritional status or severely impaired liver function [21]. Glucose homeostasis is critical for normal functioning of the central nervous system and cells which have an obligatory requirement for this metabolic substrate.

Alcohol can cause hypoglycemia

Such a priming effect, however, has not been observed in rats either after acute alcohol administration [98] or chronic alcohol feeding [57], but alcohol did inhibit the stimulatory action of the insulin secretagogue tolbutamide [98]. The findings discussed here presents that the role of chronic use of alcohol on diabetes might be high of importance for clinical research and practice. The finding that was shown may also help to explain previous contradictory findings, regarding the association between alcoholism and diabetes. Chronic heavy consumption deteriorates glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, and this may well be one of the mechanisms involved in the malignant effect of alcohol, with regard to development of diabetes. In addition, appetite-regulating peptides, particularly ghrelin and leptin, BDNF, and hippocampal LTP, which play important roles in the brain and insulin sensitivity, could become possible candidates for mediation that links T2DM and alcohol consumption.

Connected Care

Alcohol intoxication mimics signs of low blood sugar, such as dizziness, blurred vision, and fatigue. So you may not know if your blood sugar is low or what you’re can diabetics get drunk feeling is just the effects of the alcohol. They should also keep a closer watch on their blood sugar so they can quickly react if levels fall too low.

• Finally, factors potentially contributing to any observed heterogeneity were investigated.
• He planned to smoke methamphetamine later, he said, adding that he believes his drug use is the reason for his homelessness.
• It has been shown that treatment providers who deliver brief advice at the time of an outpatient appointment are effective in reducing hazardous alcohol use.
• Overall, alcohol consumption leads to less predictable blood sugar levels, and this can be a risk.

The Long-Term Effect of Moderate Drinking With Diabetes

These changes are not immediately causing diabetes in the short term, but when you look at these patterns throughout someone’s life, it’s possible that these behaviors can add up to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes. With all of this in mind, the risks of drinking alcohol when you have type 2 diabetes may outweigh any benefits. It’s important to keep your personal health top-of-mind, right along with the advice of your healthcare provider. Having identified significant differences in dose-response by both sex and referent group, sex-specific data from the five studies using a strictly defined never-drinking abstention category are reported in Supplementary Fig.

How Does Alcohol Impact Diabetes?

Extensive studies using animal models of chronic alcohol intake have provided insight into the possible mechanisms, which contributes to the development of diabetes. Previously, our study demonstrated that chronic heavy drinking aggravates T2DM. In this study, diabetic rats with chronic alcohol consumption showed lower fasting plasma glucose level, but significantly higher postprandial plasma glucose level that was difficult to return to baseline levels than the non-drinking diabetic rats. On the other hand, this effect of ethanol on glucose levels was not observed in the non-diabetic rats, which indicate that the diabetic state appears to be more susceptible to heavy alcohol ingestion than those in the non-diabetic state [16]. However, more attention needs to be paid to impact of chronic alcohol consumption on the glucose metabolism and insulin resistance that have already been described in patients with T2DM. However, whether these adverse effects in humans are mediated by changes in glycemic control and/or insulin action is far from clear.

• Drinking alcohol carries the same health risks for people with diabetes as it does in otherwise healthy people.
• Alcohol-induced brain damages were commonly observed in otherwise, uncomplicated alcoholics [58].
• Duplicate studies were identified among short-listed entries and omitted with consideration for the type and number of confounding factors, sample size, and length of follow-up.

However, alcohol may impair the release of stored glucose, thereby potentially creating lows for an extended period of time. That is why it’s important to monitor blood sugar for longer periods of time after consuming alcohol, such as overnight or into the next morning. Unlike type 1 diabetes, which involves an insufficient production of insulin in the body, type 2 diabetes refers to having insulin resistance. While there are differences in treatment for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the advice for alcohol use and diabetes management is similar.

Diabetes patients who are at-risk drinkers are likely to have poor diabetes treatment adherence, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Alcohol consumption by diabetes patients is often inadequately assessed and addressed in their medical care. Brief interventions to reduce at-risk drinking have been well validated in a variety of patient populations and offer the potential to improve diabetes treatment adherence and outcome. Assessment and treatment of at-risk drinking could be readily incorporated into routine diabetes care. Strategies for brief assessment of and intervention for at-risk drinking are offered.