Can You Consume Wine When You Have Diabetes?
You can consume wine when you are a diabetic, but you should consume wine with a carbohydrate food or with a meal. Consuming wine without a meal can cause one’s blood sugar to dip unexpectedly (hypoglycaemia), especially if he or she is dependent on insulin or medication. When blood sugar drops, the liver starts to turn stored carbohydrate reserves in the body into glucose which is then released into the bloodstream to counter the hypoglycaemia.
However, when a diabetic consumes wine without a meal, the liver does not turn stored carbohydrate in the body to glucose. Instead, the liver turns the wine that is being consumed into glucose instead. When more than a light to moderate amount of wine is consumed, the alcohol in the wine starts to react with many of the prescribed diabetic medications, and worsen the side effects of diabetes, such as the increase in blood pressure.
Therefore, if you are a diabetic, you should only consume a maximum of two 10 g standard drinks per day for men, and one 10 g standard drink for women. One 10 g standard drink is approximately 100 ml of wine.
Recent studies have shown that the regular light to moderate consumption of wine by a diabetic with a meal, may also reduce your overall risk of cardiovascular disease. This is related to the positive effect of alcohol on your body’s metabolism of glucose and insulin, and on your plasma concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL), which increases the removal of cholesterol from your body. On the other hand, the heavy consumption of wine or alcohol will worsen the effects of diabetes, such as significantly increasing your fasting plasma concentration of fats, such as triglyceride.
Therefore, how do you harness the health benefits of drinking wine without worsening your diabetic condition?
Diabetics should consume low sugar or “dry” varieties of wine such as dry sherry, still or sparkling wines. Diabetics should steer clear of medium dry or sweet sherry as well as sweet dessert wines. High sugar liqueurs and fortified wines are not recommended for diabetics.
Click here to read Julia Hanf’s amazing true story of how she overcame her wedding night disaster and cured her husband of diabetes. Click here to check out her comprehensive diabetes guide now.
Related links
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.