The relationship between diabetes and alcohol consumption is really not clear. Different studies show improvements in insulin sensitivity and others show a decline. A lifetime drinking pattern has also been associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Alcoholic beverages are made from two basic ingredients:\r

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• a type of sugar such as barley, malt, wheat, rice, plums, potatoes or grapes, and

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• yeast

The yeast uses up the sugar source giving ethanol and gases in a fermentation process. The longer the fermentation process the drier the product. The result is sweet wines and dry wines.

1. The Effect of alcohol on your weight. Alcohol is neither a fat, or a carbohydrate but it does contain 7 calories/ 29 kilojoules per gram of fat. If you are following an exchange program alcohol is usually counted as a fat. The calories come from both the alcohol and residual sugar content.

Although your body treats the alcohol as a toxin and burns it up first, alcohol puts onto your body extra calories from dietary fat, carbohydrate and protein. Part of it gets converted by the liver to fat. The fat is deposited locally, which is where the term ‘beer belly’ comes from.

Alcohol is fattening as the body has nowhere to store alcohol. Alcohol takes top priority as a fuel source and sends other fuel (food) to storage.

2. What is a Standard Drink? alcoholic drinks contain varying amounts of sugar and alcohol and the strength of the alcohol varies greatly:\r

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• beer contains between 2 to 6 per cent alcohol,

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• wines vary from between 8 to 14 per cent, and

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• spirits between 35-40 per cent

The sugar content varies also, between 5-10 per cent for sweet wines and 20-30 per cent for liqueurs.

A standard drink is defined as being one containing 10 grams of ethanol. The common standard serving of different drinks contain between 65 to 110 calories (270-460 kilojoules}.

If you have:\r

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• 2 glasses of wine

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• 2 nips of whiskey, or

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• 2 midis of beer,

you are having two standard drinks and somewhere between 130-300 calories (544-835 kilojoules).

3. How does alcohol affect your blood sugar levels? Sometimes alcohol reduces levels too much. If you are using insulin, alcohol can make your levels go too low. The alcohol can increase the effect and paralyze the mechanism that usually brings the levels back to normal. This can be avoided by not drinking on an empty stomach and having snacks alongside your drink.

It is recommended people with diabetes have no more than one standard drink per day for females and two standard drinks for males. To use alcohol or not will be your choice. The main messages is to drink in moderation, diabetes or no diabetes.

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• Type 2 Diabetes - The Avoidable Epidemic
• Pre-Diabetes - Are You a Ticking Time Bomb?
• How to Help Straighten Out Those High Blood Sugar Levels
• Understanding The Glycemic Index For Diabetics
• Type 2 Diabetes - 3 Tips to Beat Fatigue
• A Free Diabetic Diet Can Help You Lose 50lbs Fast!
• Diabetes Screening

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