Answer to Question #336000 in Biochemistry for Norbie

Question

Explain in NOT MORE than 350 words how giving an alcoholic patient who has hypoglycaemia an IV infusion of glucose ALONE can be fatal.

Answer 1

The fact that alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories and have no nutritional value is bad news for your waistline. But, what many people don’t consider is that they can also be full of sugar. 

A pint of cider can contain as many as five teaspoons of sugar – almost as much as the World Health Organisation recommends that you do not exceed per day¹. What’s more, alcohol can negatively alter blood sugar levels, putting heavy drinkers at increased risk of developing alcohol-related diabetes.

How sugar affects your body

Too much sugar is bad for your heath in a number of ways. Firstly, it’s very high in calories, and excessive consumption can lead to unhealthy weight gain. Being overweight can make you more susceptible to long term health problems, including life threatening illnesses such as heart disease<span style="font-weight: 600;">.</span> A high-sugar diet can also lead to type 2 diabetes, which occurs when a person’s blood sugar levels are too high.

Quite apart from the damage it can do to your body, sugar is also the main cause of tooth decay, which can lead to cavities if left untreated.

Sugar in alcohol

Alcoholic drinks account for 10% of 29 to 64 year olds in the UK’s daily intake of added sugar, and 6% for over 65s.² Despite this, many people forget to factor in what they drink when calculating daily sugar intake. All alcoholic beverages contain some sugar, but Dr Sarah Jarvis, a member of Drinkaware’s medical panel, identifies fortified wines, sherries, liqueurs and cider as being particular causes of excessive consumption. It’s also important to consider what you’re mixing your drinks with, as the carbonated drinks popular with spirits are often very high in sugar. 

Alcohol and diabetes

The effects of alcohol on blood sugar, in particular hypoglycemia, can make excessive drinking very dangerous for anyone with diabetes. Alcohol can also make hypoglycemic medications less effective, meaning those with diabetes need to take extra care when drinking.

In addition to this, Dr Jarvis warns that alcohol with high sugar content can lead to ‘hypoglycemia unawareness’. In other words, people with diabetes sufferers who have been drinking won’t notice the warning signs of low blood sugar.

This results in a much higher risk of the most dangerous kind of hypos in which blood sugar is very low and there are significantly higher risks of cardiac arrhythmia, brain damage (and) myocardial infarction.