Beer for Diabetics

There have been numerous threads on this in the past. I suggest searching for those threads to see if they hold answers for you.

 

Follow your Dr advice.

 

I'm type 1 and I drink whatever I want, within reason of course. Just be smart, have restraint and limit what you drink. Check your sugar excessively. I'm not going to drink a garbage light beer over a world class option if I'm choosing one beer to have at night with dinner. Just keep it in check and you'll be okay. Moderation and knowing your body is a cliche line, but all there is to it.

 

OP, you make a great point that most ratings and reviews of NA beers are posted by non-diabetic BA members who are looking for a NA beer, perhaps for weight control purposes that tastes great, but being disappointed that it doesn't taste like their favorite IPA, a poor rating might be the outcome. Few members likely drink NA beers one after another so that they can be compared to each other and rated accordingly so that the best ones ride to the top.

Perhaps since you started this thread with diabetics in mind, the future discussion on subsequent posts will focus on true comparison ratings and reviews and the true winner beer will become evident.

 

It's a stretch, but maybe calories could be added as a default for beers (ask Todd)? Even if drinking NA, the calorie amounts have made me have only approximately one a day, trying to keep the weight in check.

 

Good general advice but some doctors would just say "no beer" because they aren't familiar with low-carb beers. I've known people that died following their doctor's advice so I've come to realize that while they have good intents, they don't always get it right.

 

That’s true, but if I have something as serious as diabetes I’m likely to get better info from my dr vs asking a question on a beer talk site. I’d also assume he’s working with a nutritionist to get that part right. My A1c run 6.4 to 6.5 so I’m getting close enough to 7 to pay attention, and I’ve seen a nutritionist. Actually the best advice is to exercise, it improves the bodies ability to burn blood glucose, as muscle is more efficient than fat. It also helps with insulin resistance, and you do need to watch your intake of sugars and this includes carbs, but we know there’s good carbs and bad carbs too. But a nutritionist is helpful in managing after the Dr diagnosis, you need a team and the combined information from both.

 

Great post OP, I had a family member pass away from the disease and also a very good friend so I know how terrible it is. You seem to have more knowledge than most since you deal with this first hand. Maybe you can lead the charge and coordinate with @Todd to see if there is a way to set up something. Cheers and all the best in health!

 

I just turned 35 and have been type 1 since the age of 16. I just want to mention that GE recently introduced a line of very cheaply priced test strips that can be purchased over the counter for $20/100 strips. Most insurance plans limit you to 100/month of whatever name brand strip they cover with copay. This limits how much you can test unless you pay the full retail which is usually in the excessive $1/strip range so $50/50 strips or $100/100 strips. These cheap new strips have changed my management for the better since I can now cheaply test as much as I want which is very handy when taking down a BA stout solo on a Friday night.

I'll also echo all the other usual stuff about exercise etc. Sticking to a gym grind really does make a huge difference even if you aren't trying to get shredded or prep for an ironman competition. Just the regularity of physical activity helps so much. I drink my bad habits so it takes a lot of work for me to remain as mediocre looking as I do. Lol

 

Great advice, but on top of that it might also be beneficial to bring to the nutritionist's attention that there are some very low carb beer styles available (Gueuze, many saisons, etc.). So compiling this information could even be useful in that context.

 

Absolutely, all info is important, and my nutritionist never ruled beers out, just moderation. Her and my Doc really push excercise as the best first line of defense vs Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, but I’ve got zero working knowledge of type 1. With diet and excercise you can reverse type 2, I’ve done it, my A1c can be altered significantly with diet and excercise.

 

Would the Brut IPA style be diabetic friendly, or at least friendlier to diabetics than most craft beers? The Brut IPA's characteristic very dry, low residual sugar would seem to be... but I'm no expert... @hopfenunmaltz @honkey @JackHorzempa

FWIW, I think Heineken Light is pretty good as far as light beers go. The touch of cascade hops in it are very nice. My only issue with Heineken is the relatively high price tag compared non-light beers with more flavor, but I'm privileged to not have a medical condition limiting my options. If I did have to limit myself to light/low-carb beers, then Heineken Light would be high on my list.

 

Yes, Brut IPAs have less residual sugars than other beer styles. Saisons as well.

Cheers!

 

I would also think Gose, Berliner Weiss and maybe even Witbiers qualify.

 

Well, not the Witbiers I brew. They have a 'normal' final gravity of around 1.010.

Cheers!

 

Yeah, that's where I'm out of my element, regarding whether that's a safe amount of carbs or not. They're fairy low calorie beers, however, at around 140 to 160.

 

My go to for low sugar quaffs is the Irish Stouts, Guinness, Murphys etc.

I've been type 1 for close to 20 years and I'm a beer nut, this is a question without easy answers, everybodys different, and in my case, my sensitivity to sugars in beer have changed as time goes by. In general, I used to take 4 units of insulin per beer, till you hit about 3 beers. Then the levels of alchohol in your blood actually lower your blood sugar, so after 3, no more insulin. You'd need to drink, test your sugars to get a handle on your bodys response to beer and little bump shots of insulin, might be too complicated for some but i'm motivated to control my sugars and consume, so this is my choice.

I'm also a vitamin nut and take supplements to reduce the damage from high sugars, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Benfothiamine and l-carnosine are three of the better ones, they limit Glycation (which is the name of the process of high blood sugars damaging you), but some people only follow MD's advise and pooh pah this sort of alternitive remedy, hey it's a free country.

I choose to accept the tradeoff of indulging and try to minimize the damage. Good advise to test alot when enjoying a few, I'm fortunate and recogize when my sugars are going low and always carry fruit juice.

 

Im not sure the restrictions on type 2, but my wife has had type for the last 6 or so years and we share beers all the time. As others have said its all about testing and we usually have a "long lasting carb" a little before. I do wish the carbs and calories were available in craft to help track a little.

 

That would be a great enhancement to the label info, especially for the Low/No Alcohol beers, for which one of their purposes is very much related to knowing that info.

 

You should probably just limit your intake and just indulge on certain days.

 

I am 48. I was diagnosed Type II ago about 15 years ago and I drink beer. Diabetes is a chronic disease. Full stop. An individual can work the angles as best as possible, hoping something else kills them before complications from the disease does them in. But the disease is probably going to kill you unless you get hit by a bus first. Think about that. You can hope to die from an alternate problem. Hmm.

Make no mistake. Beer is not diabetic friendly. Beer kills diabetics. So called low carb beer kills diabetics slower than some other beers. Limiting or eliminating your intake of beer carbs will help you control the disease.

Look, there is no magic bullet here. Maybe that is not what you are looking for. Maybe it is. It does not exist. My personal advice and my personal opinion is to make smart choices and live your life as best as you can.
Cheers.


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I’ve beer pre diabetes for years, lack of excercise, being overweight are the usual suspects. Insulin resistance is usually linked to the lack of excercise hence the body stores the sugar instead of burning it. Fats a poor conductor where as muscle is much better. I can drop my A1C from 6.5 to 5.8 just by losing a bit of weight and eating right with excercise. 7 is usually the tipping point for medicine to help with sugar problems. Dr and nutritionist are really the key here. If your eating right a beers never a problem, but you have to lay off the crappy high carb high calorie junk

 

Yeah. I was 5'9" 165 pounds when diagnosed and actually quite healthy.

Genetics more than anything is the key factor. But absolutely, staying in shape and reasonably healthy is be the best solution for most every disease in fact. Beer can be worked into a diabetics life, and no two people are the same. But beer and diabetes are not really compatible.

Good Lord I hate being a diabetic.
Cheers.

 

Same with cholesterol, it’s hereditary too. If I’m not taking Crestor mines sky high. Sucks. My brothers type two and he given himself a shot once a week, he’s not a beer guy, he’s got a thing for honey.

 

PtE not being rated by a diabetic is snobbery? Bro, I lived through a plane crash, this site needs more plane crash survivor perspective. For reals...

 

If beer reviews are that "discouraging" to you, I would simply not read them.

I cannot imagine anyone perceiving fairness/insensitivity/snobbery on beer reviews--at least from the intent you imply. A far greater contribution from the brewing community to the health of diabetics and prediabetics would be the nutritional information on their beers and if not on the can/bottle, something on the website. Despite a "general" idea that many of us have, I remained surprised at the caloric/carb content of some beers (when you can find it).

I am certainly not looking to impose more regulation on the industry--not one bit--but that type of information would be as valuable to some people as a plainly stated ABV.

 

Same here man. Been a type 1 for 15 years. I drink craft beer regularly and as long as I stay on top of it, no issues come up. At least no more frequently than foods.