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Alcohol and Diabetes

Is alcohol and diabetes a good combination? If you have diabetes, you probably know the impact of different foods on your blood sugar levels. How does alcohol influence glucose readings, and can diabetics consume alcoholic beverages safely? What is the best alcohol for diabetics? Diabetics can incorporate alcoholic beverages in their diet in a safe and responsible way. However, it is essential to always keep in mind that consumption of alcohol should always be done with food. This is mainly because alcohol increases the risk for low blood sugar especially in diabetics. Therefore, it is safety to consume alcoholic beverages either with meals that include carbohydrates such as starch or snacks such as crackers.

Here is what you should know about Alcohol and Diabetes

What happens if you Mix Alcohol and Diabetes Medications?

Alcohol causes blood sugar levels to fall or rise depending on the amount you consume. On the other hand, diabetes medication such as meglitinides or suldonylureas also lower blood sugar levels by stimulating production of more insulin by the pancreas. Combining alcohol with the blood glucose lowering effects of diabetes medication can lead to insulin shock of hypoglycemia which are medical emergencies.

Alcohol impairs liver function

The liver must work to remove alcohol from your blood instead of regulating the blood sugar level. Therefore, it is vital to avoid drinking alcohol when your blood sugar level is already low. Be sure to test your blood sugar level before consuming alcohol.

Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages on an empty stomach

One of the main benefits of consuming alcohol with food is because food slows down the absorption rate of alcohol into your bloodstream. When drinking alcohol, you should always eat a snack or meal containing carbohydrates.

Can Alcohol cause Hypoglycemia?

Alcohol can cause a drastic drop in your blood glucose level within a few minutes of consumption and up to 12 to 14 hours afterwards. You should always check your blood sugar level after consuming alcohol to make sure it is still within the safe zone.

Drink slowly

It takes about 2 hours for the liver of someone who weighs 150 pounds to break down just a single alcoholic drink. When you drink too much alcohol too fast, you may feel disoriented, dizzy, and sleepy. Always wear a bracelet that will let people know that you are diabetic, so in case you are intoxicated, they know that these symptoms could also be as a result of hypoglycemia. People who are hypoglycemic need glucose or food in order to raise their blood sugar levels.

Diabetes and Alcohol – It is Essential to Know your Limit.

Your physician will tell you the amount of alcohol that you can consume safely depending on your medication and health condition. It is essential to understand that sometimes this may mean keeping off alcohol completely. In most cases, men with diabetes should have no more than two drinks. Women may have no more than one alcoholic drink. Drinking alcoholic beverages slowly and understanding your limit can save your life.

Diabetics should be cautious especially when consuming alcohol because it can make some diabetes complications, even worse. Therefore, it is essential to consult with your doctor, so that they may prescribe the best diabetes medications for you – especially if you are combining alcohol and diabetes.

What is the Best Artificial Sweetener for Diabetics?

The Best Artificial Sweetener for Diabetics

Although quitting refined sugars can be quite tough, it is definitely worth all the effort considering how incredibly damaging sugar can be especially for diabetics. Luckily, there are some artificial sweeteners that are actually great for your health. Besides tasting very sweet, they are low in fructose and low in calories. You will find artificial Sweeteners in many things – Desserts, yogurt, diet soda’s, breakfast cereals, snack bars and a myriad of other foods. In order to choose the best artificial sweetener for diabetics, it is essential to learn more about the properties and effects of these healthy artificial sweeteners:

Stevia – Can Diabetics Use Stevia?

Most certainly they can!

Steviol is a popular low calorie sweetener that is extracted from a plant in South America known as Stevia rebaudiana. It has been for many many years in South America, as a sweetener and best of all, contains virtually no kilojoules! Stevia leaves contain numerous sweet compounds including Rebaudioside and stevioside.

These sweet compounds are about 300 times sweeter than regular sugar. It is often sold as a powdered extract in most food stores. Moreover, stevia has been used for centuries by various native Indian communities especially in Paraguay.

What are the Health Benefits of Stevia?

best artificial sweetener for diabetics — Can Diabetics Use Stevia Sweetener?

Stevia can help lower high blood pressure by 6 to 14%. It has been shown to lower the level of blood sugar in diabetics.
It has been tested numerous times around the globe and found to be non-toxic.
Stevia can be incorporated in the diet of diabetics because it does not raise the blood sugar levels.
Both stevioside and stevia extracts can be used in cooking and baking because they are extremely heat-soluble.

Some studies show that stevia can also reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol, reduce the build-up of plaque in the aryeries and improve insulin sensitivity.

Erythritol

Erythritol is a low-calorie sugar alcohol that contains 6 percent of the calories or 0.24 calories per gram as sugar with about 70 percent of the sweetness. It does not have any effect on biomarkers such as triglycerides or cholesterol because it does not spike insulin or blood sugar levels. The body absorbs erythritol from the intestines but it’s eventually excreted unchanged from the kidneys. Although studies show that it is very safe, just like other sugar alcohols, consuming erithritol in high doses at a time can cause digestive issues.

Xylitol

This sugar alcohol has sweetness very similar to sugar. Xylitol contains about two thirds the calorific value of sugar or about 2.4 calories per gram. It helps prevent osteoporosis by improving bone density. It is also great for diabetics because it does not raise insulin or blood sugar levels. Xylitol offers some dental health benefits such as preventing dental decay and cavities. However, xylitol is toxic to dogs and should be kept safely away from them. It can also cause digestive problems in high doses.

Acesulfame-K (Also known as Ace-K)

Acesulfame-K is a tabletop sweetener that is commonly used as an additive to alcoholic drinks, pudding, and confectionery. It’s sweetness level is about 200 times that of sugar.

Benefits of using Acesulfame-K

There are no health or safety concerns associated with its use.
It can also be used in baking and cooking
Acesulfame-K is safe for use even during pregnancy.
It does not affect blood sugar levels

What are the Disadvantages of using Acesulfame-K?

When used on its own, Acesulfame-K can leave a sour or bitter taste in your mouth.

There are also some popular health conscious sweeteners you can use instead of sugar. These include maple syrup, honey, molasses and coconut sugar. This in-depth analysis will help you choose the best artificial sweetener for diabetics depending on your needs and preferences and help control your sugar levels.

Here’s to Controlling your Diabetes!

How to Reverse Diabetes with Diet

Post updated: 9th June 2023

You can easily learn how to reverse diabetes naturally and achieve this ultimate goal by simply adding the right foods to your diet. Although this might sound hard at first, it gets easier as the routine becomes a habit.

However, it is vital to remember following a diabetes diet is what enables you to get back to living your normal life. You can be in total control of diabetes and also feel good by introducing some foods to your diet. High-nutrient, low GL (glycemic load) foods are optimal for diabetics and they also help you achieve remarkable results by increasing your weight loss.

Foods to Reverse Diabetes

Green vegetables

Nutrient-dense green vegetables including cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens are the most important foods you should focus on in order to reverse diabetes. Higher consumption of green vegetables among diabetics is associated with lower hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels.

Non-starchy vegetables

Non-starchy, non-green vegetables like onions, mushrooms, eggplant, garlic, and peppers are essential components of your diabetes reversal diet. Besides having almost nonexistent effects on the blood sugar level of diabetics, they are packed with phytochemicals and fiber.

Beans

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Beans and legumes such as lentils are the ideal sources of carbohydrates for diabetics. Beans have a low glycemic value load due to their abundant fiber, moderate protein, and resistant carbohydrates, starch that is not digested in the small intestine.

Therefore, the number of calories absorbed from the beans is greatly reduced. Moreover, the resistant starch is converted to alcohol and organic acids that protect against cancer of the colon.

Consumption of beans and legumes is associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer and diabetes.

Seeds and nuts

Besides being low in GL, nuts promote weight loss and also have an anti-inflammatory effect that prevents the development of insulin resistance. According to The Nurses’ Health study, eating at least five servings of nuts per week reduces the risk of diabetes by 27%. Eating the same quantity per week reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke among diabetics by 47%.

5. Fresh fruits

Fruits are rich in antioxidants and fiber and are a great nutrient-dense choice for satisfying your sweet cravings. Diabetics should eat at least 3 servings of low-sugar fresh fruits such as kiwi, melon, oranges, and berries each day in order to minimize glycemic effects.

Nutritional Guide to assist you with Planning Your Diabetes Diet

The following 4 food groups are highly effective in reversing diabetes:

Vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, sweet potato, artichokes, kale, green beans, and squash.
Fruits: Pears, peaches, kiwifruit, bananas, oranges, grapes, and the entire berry family.
Whole grains: Whole grain pasta, brown rice, oats, millet, barley, rye, bran cereal, bulgur wheat, couscous, oats, and pumpernickel bread.
Pulses: such as soya beans, baked beans, chickpeas, split peas, lentils, peas, kidney beans, and low-fat soya products.

Always choose foods that have a low glycemic load when making your selections, avoid all animal products, keep the consumption of vegetable oils to a minimum, and choose foods that come from natural plant sources.

Understanding how to reverse diabetes and applying these guidelines when creating your diabetes diet will deliver amazing results and even enable you to eliminate the use of medications for good.

Find out how Broccoli Sprouts help Control Diabetes!

New Findings – Sugarcane and Diabetes

With more than 250 people being diagnosed with diabetes every day, the disease is undoubtedly widening its grip on Australians. Although there is still no cure, trials on new treatment for diabetes have shown remarkable promise for patients. This is all due to a highly unlikely source; sugarcane. New trials have shown that sugarcane boost intestinal health which demonstrates positive effects especially in the treatment of diabetes.

Diabetes can easily wreck havoc on the health of its victims when it is poorly managed. This increases the likelihood of patients suffering a stroke, heart attack, loss of vision, amputation and kidney damage.

Fit, slender and without a history of diabetes, it was highly unlikely that Simon De Crespingly could be a candidate for type II diabetes. However, in 2011 a test revealed that he was at the brink of developing Diabetes 2.

What is the relationship between Sugarcane and Diabetes?

Low Glycemic Index

Although this made him quite emotional, taking a health drink known as NutriKane D daily had remarkable effects on Simon. In fact, clinical tests suggest that it helps stabilize blood glucose levels. Research has shown that adding sugar cane juice to tonic lowers the GI (Glycemic Index) of food thus stabilizing the blood sugar levels. Sugarcane juice provides essential amounts of energy (sugar) in a safe manner. This makes it a perfect energy drink especially for diabetics.

Sugar that is derived from plants is processed in the liver, not the small intestine. Therefore, sugar from sugarcane (glucose and fructose) is absorbed slowly which reduces the likelihood of spikes in blood sugar. Therefore, sugarcane juice for diabetes patients may help regulate blood sugar.

Simon De Crespingly went from low range Type 2 Diabetes of 12.3 down to 6.8. Although sugarcane seems like an unlikely element in fighting against high blood sugar levels, Australian medical researchers have discovered that sugarcane is rich in hard-to-digest fiber which promotes growth of good gut bacteria.

Stuart Eastwood, Diabetes NSW CEO cautioned patients against ditching healthy eating habits and exercise just yet since this natural product was in its initial testing stages.

The Bloodless Glucose Meter Review

It might be possible to test your blood glucose level without a finger prick in the near future. Currently there are various companies testing bloodless glucose meters.

One of these glucose meters measures blood sugar using light in less than 20 seconds. The landscape of this technology has grown stronger with solid research and several companies have a real shot of introducing the no-stick glucose meter to the market.

Bloodless Glucose Meter – Grove Instruments

Grove Instruments’ newest creation is the optical bridge technology that uses near infrared spectroscopy to measure real time blood glucose in less than 20 seconds. The device is battery-operated just like the traditional meter.

However, the main difference is that you only have to place on your earlobe or fingertip. The device is one of its kind and it has already been patented.

Grove expects this innovation to allow people suffering from diabetes to monitor their blood sugar levels more easily and convenient. The device will also enable doctors to screen people for diabetes and pre-diabetes more quickly.

Does the Glucometer meet accuracy standards? Optical Bridge technology has already surpassed the ISO 15197 clinical trials standard.

Echo Therapeutics

The Symphony tCGM biosensor that monitors blood glucose levels continuously using a thersdermal sensor was developed by Eco Therapeutics.

After placing the biosensor on-site, it only needs to warm up for the symphony to transmit the blood glucose level of the user wirelessly to a remote monitor every minute.

The monitor keeps track of the rate of glucose changes and the glucose level. Moreover, it provides audible and visual alarms in case the user’s rate of change and blood glucose levels move outside the target range.

OrSense Bloodless Glucose Meter.

Orsense monitors the users’ Blood glucose level using the spectOLight Occlusion Spectroscopy Technology. This bloodless glucose meter has a ring-shaped sensor that can be worn on the thumb or any other finger. The ring applies gentle pressure on the finger in order to occlude blood flow. Tests on over 450 diabetic subjects show that this glucose meter performs similar to invasive sensors available in the market.

Cnoga Medical Ltd.

Cnoga medical, a start up in Israel, has developed a bloodless glucose monitor that uses optical sensors to track changes in skin color instead of taking a physical blood sample by pricking the skin.

Although this device is already available in Europe, it will probably require further clinical trials in the United States before being sold to diabetics officially. However, the monitor’s technology has already been approved by the FDA (United States Food and Drug administration) for other applications.

Instead of pricking the finger, the patient can simply place a finger on the optical sensor in order for the device to monitor the blood sugar level, skin resistance, the quality of skin collagen and the heart rate.

Arriva Bloodless Glucose Meter

Arriva has created a talking meter which has quite useful for the elderly and diabetics whose vision is impaired. Although the Arrive glucose meter does not require finger pricks, it still requires a small blood sample which is presumably from alternate site such as the palm forearm or thigh for calibrating the sensors periodically. The sensor can be placed on the abdomen or upper arm with a special adhesive.

This no stick glucose meter uses interstitial fluid measurements rather than blood glucose and their testing kits are very useful for showing any trends in your blood sugar level. Moreover, the talking meter is easier to use, more accurate, and pain-free.

Read on for more information on Bloodless Glucose Meters.

Freestyle Libre Pro – NOW HAS FDA APPROVAL – In the USA.

Here is what you should know about Alcohol and Diabetes

What happens if you Mix Alcohol and Diabetes Medications?

Diabetes and Alcohol – It is Essential to Know your Limit.

Stevia – Can Diabetics Use Stevia?

What are the Health Benefits of Stevia?

Erythritol

Xylitol

Acesulfame-K (Also known as Ace-K)

Benefits of using Acesulfame-K

What are the Disadvantages of using Acesulfame-K?

Foods to Reverse Diabetes

Green vegetables

Non-starchy vegetables

Beans

Seeds and nuts