11/17/2018 / By RJ Jhonson
Apart from eating healthy and engaging in regular physical activity, there’s one more thing that people with Type 2 diabetes can do to ensure that they are always in the pink of health – cut back on alcohol consumption. After all, reducing alcohol intake lowers the risk of developing serious health conditions, including certain types of cancer, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Lower alcohol consumption, together with a diet that is low on refined sugar and simple carbohydrates and regular exercise, helps lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes and improves existing diabetes control. If you have diabetes and you love the occasional taste of liquor, you are not completely discouraged from drinking. But as a rule, you need to stay away from beer and cider as these contain higher amounts of sugar.
If you are taking medication that lowers your blood glucose levels, you may need to lay off on alcohol completely. Liquor can interact with your medication and cause severe hypoglycemia, wherein your blood sugar crashes way below normal levels. The condition causes a variety of symptoms, including clumsiness, trouble talking, confusion, loss of consciousness, seizures, and in extreme cases, death.
Controlling your alcohol intake also reduces your risk of liver damage. Diabetics are already at a higher risk of suffering from organ damage. Engaging in known risk factors, such as drinking alcohol, cannot be good for your liver.
Finally, saying no to alcohol aids in weight loss, an important step in diabetic management, because it lets you avoid all the extra sugar and calories that come with drinks like beer and certain cocktails. (Related: Excessive alcohol intake damages your brain.)
Once again, you don’t need to quit alcohol completely. Some types of liquor, such as red wine, are good for you at the right doses. The idea is for you to simply limit your intake to what is safe for your condition.
Read tips on how to control your blood sugar at DiabetesScienceNews.com.
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alcohol addiction, alcoholism, Booze, diabetes, Drinking, effects of alcohol, hypoglycemia, liquor, quitting alcohol
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