Alcohol Addiction And Diabetes
If you have diabetes and alcohol addiction at the same time, drinking alcohol may affect the levels of your sugar to drop or to rise at dangerous levels. When drinking over a long period of time, the blood sugar control can get severe.
Alcohol addiction among diabetics can lead to low blood sugar levels. It can cause the accumulation of acids in the blood that may lead to different diseases.
How can alcohol cause diabetes?
1. Alcohol use, abuse, dependence as well as addiction lessens the body’s sensitivity to
insulin triggering type 2 diabetes.
2. Alcohol has a large amount of calories that can contribute to your weight gain. Becoming
overweight is a factor that can increase your risk of developing type 3 diabetes.
3. Heavy drinking causes chronic pancreatitis that increases one’s risk to developing
diabetes.
Diabetes & Hypoglycemia
When someone has diabetes, the glucose stays in the blood more than it is being utilized as
energy. In order to excrete the excess glucose, the body gets rid of it in the urine.
When one is dependent on insulin, the blood glucose levels can go below normal most of the
times. This condition is called hypoglycemia. Usually, the person has symptoms including:
slurred speech, confusion, headache, double vision and abnormal behavior.
A person with alcohol addiction and also has hypoglycemia may be in danger because the
symptoms of hypoglycemia are almost the same when a person is drunk. Heavy drinking may
also aggravate hypoglycemia because glucose production in the liver is hampered when
drinking.
Another consequence of diabetes is nerve damage that can get worse after heavy drinking.
Symptoms of nerve damage such as tingling, numbness and pain increases after alcohol use.
Alcohol Addiction & Diabetes
If you are battling with alcohol addiction and diabetes, you should be aware of the following
things to keep you informed on how alcohol can aggravate your condition:
Sweet wine and beer contains carbohydrates that may spike your blood sugar levels.
Alcohol may interfere with the effects of diabetes medications.
Alcohol may increase blood pressure and triglycerides.
Alcohol causes nausea, flushing, fast heart rate and slurred speech.
People with diabetes should be in control of alcohol. For men, make sure to maintain only two drinks a day while women should only have one drink daily. If you have an alcohol addiction, seek the help of medical professionals such as addiction specialist who can help you abstain from alcohol.