Getting a little tiddly, becoming a little bit unsteady on your feet. These are the visible effects of alcohol. But alcohol is far from done there. Alcohol has an immediate effect on the metabolism. First, the blood glucose will increase. Second, there is sometimes a reduction of blood glucose. How? The body throws up defences against alcohol as against any toxic substance. And, as such, it must be broken down by the liver. In the normal way of things, if the level is low, the liver gives the blood the extra glucose that it needs. The liver then has a much harder time of it if alcohol is already in the blood. All the liver wants is a fighting chance of breaking down the alcohol. In short: the chance of a hypo is much greater.

Nor are the intestines spared the effects of alcohol. Think about it: your intestines bear the brunt of the alcohol and pass it on into the bloodstream. Normally, it takes one to three hours for a meal to be taken in and digested. So, the alcohol will not enter the blood as quickly on a full stomach. Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach will make you feel the effects of the alcohol much faster. The intestines send the alcohol direct to the blood: after five minutes the alcohol is surging in your blood. The alcohol reaches your brain. This may result in, for example, some difficulty keeping your balance, or your reactions may be slower. No cause, as such, for alarm. Just a sign to stop and eat something. What makes inebriation dangerous is that you can't really feel a hypo. And the chance of a hypo increases if you drink alcohol. Especially if you take blood-glucose reducing tablets. Alcohol can potentiate the effect of certain blood-glucose reducing tablets (certain sulphonylureum derivates). Alcohol may even prolong the effective duration. The hypo may occur hours later.

Let us be quite certain, excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous. We all know that it affects the liver. And, if you drink long and hard, you run the risk of infection of the pancreas. If the pancreas is producing insulin, infection will reduce the production of insulin. Infection of the pancreas may be fatal. Regular alcohol consumption also results in reduced sensitivity to insulin and in nervous disorder: alcoholic neuropathy.

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