It is a shock when you are first diagnosed with diabetes because it is a life changing event. Diabetes has no cure and this means that you will have to treat the disease for the rest of your life.

In order to treat diabetes you will have to check your blood sugar level each and every day. You will either have to inject insulin or take some form of medication to make the body more responsive to insulin. Above all, you should try to get more exercise and control what you eat and drink.

Apart from the responsibility of having to take control of your blood sugar level, being strict about what you can and can't eat seems the hardest thing to get used to. Most people enjoy eating and drinking and a restriction on this can seem very unfair. However, after some initial adjustment, creating tasty and interest diabetic food is quite easy.

A question that often crops up is the relationship between alcohol and diabetes. Can a diabetic consume alcohol like somebody without the disease and what affect does alcohol have on the body. This article will cover some of these issues and discuss diabetes and alcohol consumption.

There is no restriction on consuming alcohol for a diabetic provided it is in moderation. Many alcohol beverages will have lots of calories and sugar in them. This has two effects. It will increase the blood sugar immediately and promote weight gain over the long term. Being overweight or putting on weight increases the chances of having other complications as a result of diabetes. Most doctors will advise diabetics to lose weight or keep their weight within a specific range of this.

After drinking alcohol, the liver will control the processing of it. One ounce of alcohol will take approximately two hours to completely metabolize. This depends on the size of the person and their physical fitness. During this time the liver stops making glucose.

Whilst this happens, there is a chance that the blood sugar level can become low. A person with low blood sugar may be hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemic people often feel tired or light headed. They may even pass out if the blood sugar is very low. This is why you should never drink on an empty stomach.

So getting a small bite to eat is good advice before you start to drink alcohol. This is especially relevant to a person with diabetes as they should strive to keep their blood sugar within a given range as much as possible. The food will make the liver create glucose and it will enter the blood before the alcohol enters the body. And like most medication, if you take diabetic pills then your shouldn't consume alcohol for a few hours after or as the prescription advises.

Don't drink excessively. Alcohol has no nutritional benefits for the body and as a diabetic it will be harder to control the blood sugar level. Fluctuations in blood sugar levels will make blood circulation worse and may lead to nerve damage and further problems with the cardiovascular system.

A glass of wine with dinner is fine. A few drinks as part of a celebration of some sort is also fine. As you grow used to treating your diabetes you will know how your body reacts in various situations. This can help you to know when and how much alcohol you can consume.

About the Author, Adrian Fletcher:

Find out about health problems caused by type 2 diabetes and how the diabetes glycemic food index can help you create diabetic meal plans. Glyconutrition.

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Alcohol And Diabetes, Glyconutrients, glyconutrition, Health And Nutrition