Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've been getting a great blood sugar reading for the last year or so - well, great for me - I'm T2D. My average morning (fasting) read for Feb-Aug (6 months) of this year is 6.1 (110 in American) and for Aug-Sep (5 weeks) it's 8.0 (144). Only difference is that previously I drank booze every evening.

Here are my readings for the first few weeks of no booze: 6.9 6.8 7.3 7.2 8.4 6.8 8.3 7 6.7 7.3 6.8 6.2 6.8 7 7.3 7.3 8.1

And then I had some drinks and my reading the next morning was: 5.3

I used to drink about 500 Ml per day of vodka - mixed with soda water and fresh lime juice. Now I'll have drink maybe once per week.

I'm male, mid-forties, mostly-paleo and T2 Diabetic.

I've asked my doc if I can go back to Glucophage/Metaformin - but he wants to wait until my next HBA1C results (he probably does not believe my readings)

Has anyone had this kind of experience? If so - what did you do?

flag	asked Sep 5 at 14:06 Brian 1

August · Answer 1 · 2012-09-05 14:37:36Z UTC

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The liver stops putting glucose into the bloodstream and starts to process the alcohol. It is a temporary, but dependable drop in blood sugar. It is also something to be careful of, if you are dieting and/or fasting. Fainting is a real possibility.

answered Sep 5 at 14:37

August
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Yeah the timing of the alcohol may favorably affect the morning readings but it may or may not affect a1c. Itd be interesting to know, please update the question when u get the numbers – Jeff Sep 5 at 14:43

MathGirl72 · Answer 2 · 2012-09-05 15:04:15Z UTC

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Alcohol can cause a severe drop in blood glucose levels. It's not unheard of for a diabetic thought to be very intoxicated to actually be suffering from hypoglycemia. The symptoms are eerily similar.

What are you taking if not Metformin?

answered Sep 5 at 15:04

MathGirl72
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	I didn't need to take any medication because I managed blood sugar levels well with diet and lifestyle (and booze, it now appears...) – Brian Sep 5 at 15:22
	I do not recommend trying to control your glucose levels with alcohol. When you do drink, keep a glucometer handy! – MathGirl72 Sep 5 at 22:22

carlos · Answer 3 · 2012-09-05 18:48:04Z UTC

Alcohol has a couple of positive health effects, and this might be one for you("lowering blood pressure, improving insulin sensitivity and reducing risk of developing cancer and heart disease).Alcohol intake can lower blood sugar immediately and up to 12 hours after ingestion." http://www.livestrong.com/article/440448-why-does-alcohol-lower-blood-sugar/#ixzz25ceyfeil

Blood sugar and alcohol - very strange

3 Answers