Does beer cause a blood sugar spike? Viral video shows an experiment—here’s what happens next

Viral video: To drink alcohol or not — often caught up in that thought? Or are you worried that consuming alcohol would lead to diabetes? You may be surprised to know that alcohol tends to reduce blood sugar levels by a lot.

An Indian entrepreneur, Rohan Sehgal, recently experimented with a pint of beer and revealed its results on his Instagram page. As part of his online series, ‘Alcoholic Drinks Series,’ Rohan Sehgal often experiments with various alcohols to test their effect on blood sugar levels.

Rohan Sehgal's video has gained over three lakh views on Instagram. Check it out HERE.

What was the beer experiment

To check the impact of beer on blood sugar levels, Rohan Sehgal drank a 330 ml pint of beer around 4 pm, after which his blood sugar fell. Eating a small snack around 1.5 hours later gave a sudden spike in his blood sugar. After Rohan Sehgal had eaten a proper meal around 8:30 pm, he noticed that his blood sugar levels had increased again.

Rohan Sehgal says this graph of spikes and decreases in blood sugar levels shows that snacking is important when drinking alcohol.

“The main learning seems to be that alcohol tends to reduce blood sugar levels by a lot,” said Rohan Sehgal. The entrepreneur, however, advised on snacking while drinking and added that too much alcohol should be avoided.

Alcohol and blood sugar levels

Blood glucose is the simplest parameter to indicate a risk for both diabetes and metabolic syndrome, with higher levels predicting higher risk, says a study by the National Library of Medicine.

The study also notes that low doses of alcohol consumption may have a protective effect against the risk of both diabetes and metabolic syndrome. On the other hand, higher levels of alcohol in the body have been associated with higher glucose levels, therefore increasing the risk of both diabetes and metabolic syndrome.