Last week hubby and I had an opportunity to have a date night at Warmdaddy’s in Philadelphia in support of Nathan Jacobs as he debuted his Look Forward CD.

Most of you know that pre Diabetes diagnosis I enjoyed a glass of wine and beer on a regular, however since my diagnosis I haven’t had either.

Honestly I don’t miss it and as evidenced by the prices I am definitely saving money!

There have been a few people that said I can drink alcohol but I wasn’t sure if that was the case so I decided to look it up.

According to the American Diabetes Association website:

Alcohol

Wondering if alcohol is off limits with diabetes? Research has shown that there can be some health benefits such as reducing risk for heart disease. But, there are also risks. Drinking alcohol can cause a drop in blood glucose because alcohol blocks the production of glucose in the liver. (The liver contains “emergency stores” of glucose to raise your blood sugar if it drops too low.)

Once the liver’s stores of glucose are used up, a person who has drank a lot of alcohol can’t make more right away, and that can lead to dangerously low blood glucose or even death.

Also, alcohol is processed by your liver, which is responsible for removing toxins (like alcohol or drugs) and processing medication, so if you are taking other pills, drinking too much alcohol can cause damage to your liver.

If you have any questions about whether alcohol is safe for you, check with your doctor. People with diabetes need to use the same guidelines as those without diabetes if they choose to drink:

Women: no more than 1 drink per day.
Men: no more than 2 drinks per day.

*One drink is equal to a 12 oz beer, 5 oz glass of wine or 1 ½ oz distilled spirits (vodka, whiskey, gin, etc.)

Tips to Sip By

If you have diabetes, do not drink on an empty stomach or when your blood glucose is low, since your risk of low blood glucose increases after drinking.
If you choose to drink, follow the rules above and have it with food. This is mainly important for those on insulin and other diabetes pills that can lower blood glucose by making more insulin.
Don’t skip a meal if you are going to drink. (If you use carbohydrate counting to plan meals, it is important to understand how the drinks you choose affect your blood glucose and often your insulin dose will need to be decreased if having more than one drink)
Wear an I.D. that notes you have diabetes. If you are in a setting where people are drinking alcohol, hypoglycemia may be mistaken for being drunk.
Watch out for craft beers, which can have twice the alcohol and calories as a light beer.
For mixed drinks, choose calorie-free drink mixers like diet soda, club soda, diet tonic water or water.
As with anyone with or without diabetes, do not drive or plan to drive for several hours after you drink alcohol.

Alcohol can cause hypoglycemia shortly after drinking and for up to 24 hours after drinking. If you are going to drink alcohol, check your blood glucose:

Before you drink
While you drink
Before bed and throughout the night
More often for up to 24 hours

Although I didn’t have an alcohlic beverage instead drank only water, the meal was great, Salmon and a Salad and the music was off the hook.

Congratulations to Nathan, his wife Shawnique and their family and perhaps, maybe one day I just might have another glass of wine but no time soon!
Head over to my Facebook page to see more picture and hear some of the music featured that night.