5 Surprising Rye Whiskey’s Health Benefits
<<< Back to the Blog Rye is a crop that shows up in so many of our products today. It is an essential ingredient for cereals, breads and of course, whiskey. It has been around since ancient times, and still today helps to feed the world. Rye grain suppliers in the U.S. want to provide quality grain services in order to keep the production of food and beverage moving forward. Whiskey is made primarily from rye grains and as a whiskey connoisseur, most would want to be aware of the health benefits that come from consuming rye. Promotes Weight Loss Rye is known as the number one grain for helping in weight loss efforts. The type of fiber that is found in rye makes a person feel full sooner than other grains. This removes the issue many people have with diets… hunger. By minimizing your appetite, the urge to eat more food is also reduced, leading to less caloric intake and causing greater potential weight loss. Plus, whiskey is a low-calorie alcohol, giving you an option to drink even when on a diet. Helps Digestion Just as the fibers mentioned above help with weight loss, they also assist with the digestion process. The fiber loosens up blockage, and removes gas and discomfort caused by digestion issues. Freeing you up to do what you need to get done. Diabetic Approved Since rye and whiskey contain no carbohydrates; they won’t impact your blood sugar levels like wheat products can. This makes whiskey the top alcoholic choice for people with diabetes. Though you should consult your doctor before drinking, regardless. Reduce Cancer Risks Whiskey contains antioxidants called ellagic acid from the rye grains. This is an acid that prevents DNA from making contact with cancer-causing cells. Rye grain suppliers have been very encouraged by the continued research done on the g Continue reading >>
Diabetes: How Drinking Affects This Disease
www.CardioSmart.org People who have diabetes need to be more careful with alcohol. Before you drink, consider a few things: Is your diabetes well-controlled? Do you know how drinking alcohol can affect you? Do you have high blood pressure, nerve damage, or eye problems from your diabetes? If you are controlling your diabetes and do not have other health issues, it may be okay to have an occasional drink. Learning how alcohol affects your body can help you make the right choices. How does alcohol affect you? If you take medicine for diabetes, drinking alcohol may cause low blood sugar. The low blood sugar reaction works like this: Normally, when your blood sugar starts to drop, your liver turns carbohydrate stored in your body into glucose (sugar) and sends it out into your bloodstream. This keeps your blood sugar steady. But when you drink, your liver wants to remove the alcohol as fast as possible. It will not send out more glucose into the blood until it gets rid of the alcohol. So if your blood sugar was already falling when you started drinking, it can drop even more. This could cause dangerous low blood sugar levels. Youmay be able to prevent this by only drinking alcohol with a meal or snack. Never drink on an empty stomach. Having as little as two drinks on an empty stomach could lead to low blood sugar. Drinking alcohol after you exercise can also cause problems. The exercise itself lowers blood sugar. So if your liver does not send glucose into your blood because of the alcohol, your blood sugar can go even lower. How much alcohol can you drink? Work with your doctor to find what is best for you. Make sure you know whether it is safe to drink if you are taking medicine for diabetes. Remember, these medicines work to remove the glucose from your blood. When your Continue reading >>
How Can Alcohol Affect Diabetes?
Diabetes is a serious medical condition that affects millions of Americans. Diabetes, short for diabetes mellitus, is a group of diseases that impacts the way your body uses glucose (blood sugar). About 24 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, but many individuals lead full and healthy lives despite the disease. If you are one of those people living with it, you may be wondering if alcohol is safe for those with diabetes. Many people know a friend or family member diagnosed with this difficult disease. The statistics are staggering: 9.3% of the population, or over 29 million Americans, currently have diabetes. Of these 29 million, 8.1 million were undiagnosed. Just three years ago, 1.7 million new cases of diabetes were identified. Many experts consider diabetes an epidemic, and drugs and alcohol are not helping the disease. Understanding Diabetes If you have received a diabetes diagnosis, it means your glucose levels are too high. Glucose primarily comes from the foods and beverages you consume. There are two different types of diabetes: type I and type II. Type I diabetes typically develops in younger people, although it can develop in adults. With this type of diabetes, the body either does not make insulin or it doesn’t make enough insulin. Type II diabetes, which is historically referred to as adult-onset diabetes, primarily impacts adults. This type of diabetes commonly develops in middle-aged and older individuals. However, it can also affect children. Insulin resistance, a condition that develops when the body’s muscle, fat and liver cells don’t use insulin to transport glucose into the body’s other cells, is the hallmark of type II diabetes. While type I and type II diabetes are the most common types, there are other forms of diabetes as well. One e Continue reading >>
Mixing Alcohol And Diabetes
Most of us enjoy a social drink now and then. Indeed, some of us have had more intimate experiences with alcohol. But is it OK to mix diabetes and alcohol? Diabetics can safely drink alcohol, albeit in very small amounts. However there are several things diabetics need to bear in mind about alcohol and diabetes. The alcohol in our wines, beers and spirits is ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol. One of the oldest recreational drugs used by humans, this chemical is also used as a fuel and a solvent. To make alcohol, fruits, vegetables or grains are fermented. During fermentation yeast or bacteria react with the sugars in these foods, creating ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Wine and cider are made by fermenting fruit or vegetables. The fermentation of cereals such as barley and rye are the basis of beer and spirits. Spirits are produced when the fermented liquid is distilled, ie a portion of the water is removed, which leaves a stronger concentration of alcohol and flavours. The alcoholic content of a drink depends on how long it has been left to ferment and, in the case of spirits, how much water has been removed during distillation. Precautions As a diabetic there are certain things you need to consider when deciding whether to drink or not. Diabetics usually take a range of medicines to treat their diabetes and associated diseases such as hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure) and cholesterol issues. Alcohol can interfere with the actions of certain medications for dealing with these conditions so you should check with your doctor to find out whether you can safely drink alcohol. You should also ask whether alcohol can have an adverse effect on any other medical conditions you may have, such as diabetic eye disease, diabetic neuropathy or high trigly Continue reading >>
Alcoholism And Diabetes: Exploring The Connection
According to the National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014, 29 million people in the U.S. (9.3 percent of the population) have diabetes. About 86 million adults have pre-diabetes, a condition that significantly increases their risks of developing diabetes. The onset of diabetes or concerns over the risk of developing the disease prompts many people to examine their food and lifestyle choices. Among the questions that top their minds is “Can I drink if I have diabetes?” According to the American Diabetes Association, most people with diabetes can drink a moderate amount of alcohol if their blood sugar level is well under control. The key here is moderation. Moderate amount of alcohol is known to be beneficial for the heart and can reduce the risk of developing heart disease. However, you should always consult your doctor to find out if alcohol is safe for you. Before delving into the correlation between alcoholism and diabetes, learn more about diabetes. This knowledge will help you understand why doctors and scientists warn against excessive drinking. Diabetes is a life-long condition where either the body (the pancreas) does not produce adequate insulin or the insulin does not work as expected. Insulin is a hormone that facilitates the conversion of glucose in the bloodstream to cellular energy that fuels us. Diabetics have an excess of glucose in the bloodstream. Over time, excessive blood glucose levels damage all the major organs of the body, like the heart, kidneys, and eyes. Unmanaged diabetes can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, strokes, nerve damage, blindness, and kidney failure. Diabetes: Type I and Type II The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases classifies the types of diabetes. Type I diabetes is the least common Continue reading >>
Alcohol And Health
Font Size: | Print By: S. Rennie, LPN The functions of the kidneys are to filter the blood (a healthy kidney and can filter around 200 quarts a day1), removing anything not needed by the body and conserve or dispose of excess water and control the body's solute balance. This excess water - urine - carries out all unwanted or no longer needed materials from the body. Waste and water are removed from the blood drops at a time. These materials are collected in the bladder. When the bladder is full, it sends a signal to empty the bladder by urinating.1,2 The damage alcohol can cause the kidney in many ways. From damaging cells, enlargement of the kidneys, impacting on various hormones that control kidney function, and creating an ionic imbalance in the body that can affect metabolic processes negatively.2 Chronic alcohol consumption promotes liver diseases which in turn has even more negative effects on the kidneys, such as compromised sodium and fluid handling and kidney failure.3 Here we examine some specifics. Ionic Imbalance. Sodium, potassium, phosphate and magnesium (i.e., electrolytes) make up the ionic fluid in the body. Alcohol increases urine production by slowing the release of ADH (antidiuretic hormone). This makes the kidneys less permeable to water, more water flows to the bladder. This increased loss of water upsets the balance of the electrolyte concentration and negatively affects the metabolic process. This can cause dehydration in chronic alcohol consumers. How much this balance is affected depends on the amount consumed, duration, the person's health and nutrition and the type of alcohol consumed.2,3 Beer is low in dissolved nutrients. When beer is consumed, large quantities of water enter the body that, in turn, lowers those already low metabolic nutrie Continue reading >>
Fitting Alcohol Into Your Meal Plan
The use of alcohol should be discussed with your physician and healthcare team. As a general guideline, for persons using insulin, two alcoholic beverages may be used in addition to their regular meal plan. No food should be omitted in exchange for an alcoholic drink. For persons who are not on insulin and are watching their weight, alcohol is best substituted for fat choices and in some cases extra bread/starch choices. Some alcoholic beverages contain higher amounts of sugar and carbohydrate — these include sweet wines, sweet vermouth and wine coolers. Use these sparingly as they may increase your blood glucose levels too much. Additional guidelines for the use of alcohol are printed below. Beverage Amount Calories Carbo- Equal to: hydrate (gms) ------------------------------------------------------------- Beer Regular beer 12 ounces 150 14 1 starch & 1-1/2 fats Light beer 12 ounces 100 6 2 fats Nonalcoholic beer 11 ounces 50 10 1 starch Distilled spirits 1.5 ounces 105 trace 2 fats 86 proof (gin, rum vodka, whiskey, scotch, bourbon) Wine red table or rose 4 ounces 85 1.0 2 fats dry white 4 ounces 80 .4 2 fats sweet wine 2 ounces 90 6.5 1/2 starch & 1-1/2 fats light wine 4 ounces 55 1.3 1 fat wine coolers 12 ounces 190 22.0 1-1/2 fruit & 3 fat champagne 4 ounces 100 3.6 2 fats sherry 2 ounces 75 1.5 1-1/2 fats sweet sherry/port 2 ounces 95 7.0 1/2 starch & 1-1/2 fats Vermouths dry 3 ounces 105 4.2 2 fats sweet 3 ounces 140 13.9 1 starch & 2 fats General Guidelines for the Use of Alcohol Alcoholic beverages are a common part of our social lives. Each adult must decide whether or not to use alcohol. When making this decision, you should understand what the potential effects of alcohol are on your health. Although alcohol has little effect on blood glucose control, it Continue reading >>
Resourceful Man Creates High-end, Single-malt Whisky From The Urine Of Elderly Diabetics
The next time you hear someone say that their drink tastes like piss, you might want to have them check the label, because Gilpin Family Whisky actually is. The completely drinkable, single-malt alcohol is distilled from the urine of elderly diabetics. Yum? In a world where homebrew beer is all the rage, and home distilleries are starting to take off, James Gilpin decided to take DIY alcohol to a whole new, much weirder level. You could call him a pee-pee pioneer. Propelled by an urban legend and his own type 1 diabetes, Gilpin began to wonder if diabetic’s sugar-rich urine could be used to create a high-end whisky. Gilpin, a designer who finds himself drawn to biomedical tech, recruited his grandmother and built a homemade distillery. Turns out, it works, and the whisky ain’t bad either. First Gilpin purifies the urine into water, removes the excess sugar molecules from Granny’s pee, then adds it to the mash to help speed up the fermentation process. The end result is a clear white alcohol that Gilpin blends with another whisky to give it the proper color and barrel-aged taste. The final step involves bottling the pissky and labeling it with the name and age of the diabetic its derived from. The result is Gilpin Family Whisky, which, believe it or not, is suitable for export. Initially, Gilpin hoped he could start a conversation with healthcare professionals by proposing the idea as an art project, but then he heard an urban legend that led him to actually produce the product. “I then heard a story about a pharmaceutical factory based in a community of elderly people and they would send representatives door to door exchanging cushions and soft toys for tubs of urine,” Gilpin said in an interview. “The factory would then take the urine and process it to remo Continue reading >>
The Facts: Alcohol And Diabetes
When it comes to alcohol and diabetes, there is some confusion as to whether it can be consumed or not. There is a large body of information that states that moderate drinking has cardio (heart) protective effects, but it can also cause havoc with your blood sugar levels. The question is, are you drinking the correct amounts and can you answer the following questions? Is your blood sugar controlled? Do you know how alcohol can affect you? Are you sticking to the recommended amount? If not, this article will give you insights and tips on how to make sure you are managing your blood sugar levels, while drinking alcohol. HOW DOES ALCOHOL AFFECT YOUR BODY? First let’s find out about what alcohol does in your body. When we drink alcohol, it moves into our bloodstream without first being metabolized in your stomach. Within five minutes of your first drink, your bloodstream contains enough alcohol to measure.1 Alcohol is metabolized by the liver, and for the average person it takes about two hours to metabolize one drink.1 If you drink faster than your body can metabolize it, it moves through your bloodstream to other parts of the body especially your brain, causing the ‘buzz sensation’.1,2 Alcohol can have different impacts on your blood sugar levels. This is often determined by how much, as well as what we drink. Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may cause blood sugar to rise, while excessive alcohol can cause hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels). This hypoglycaemia can occur shortly after and for up to 24 hours after drinking.1,2,3 As your liver is processing alcohol it cannot make new glucose, preventing your body’s normal protective mechanism from kicking in if your blood glucose level falls too low during or after drinking.3 For those who are taking insulin Continue reading >>
Diabetics & Whiskey
Having diabetes means you must be vigilant about closely monitoring your diet, but if you find yourself at a bar with friends, don't throw caution to the wind. Although diabetics can safely consume spirits because they're low in calories, be careful about enjoying whiskey in a mixed drink. Many types of mixers are high in calories, but by switching your mixer for a diet version -- using diet ginger ale instead of regular ginger ale, for example -- you can safely avoid consuming too many calories. Video of the Day Diabetics should practice moderation when planning to consume an alcohol such as whiskey, according to the American Diabetes Association. Although whiskey doesn't contain any carbohydrates and the ADA reports that alcohol leads to minimal change in your blood glucose, the organization still recommends that diabetic women should consume only one alcoholic beverage per day. Men can consume two. One serving of whiskey is 1.5 ounces, which is a standard serving size. The ADA recommends only drinking alcohol when you're effectively managing your blood glucose and drinking a calorie-free beverage such as water at the same time. Avoid mixed drinks, as they often contain high-sugar, high-calorie mixers. Continue reading >>
Alcohol And Diabetes: Carb Counts & Facts On Consumption
Here you'll find all the carb counts for different alcoholic beverages and we'll cover all the intricate details about alcohol and diabetes. But no doubt the one burning question you want answered is: can you indulge in a drink? Certainly excess alcohol by way of binge drinking is not healthy for anyone but it can be especially dangerous for people with type 2 diabetes. But moderate drinking within the standard guidelines is acceptable. Though you also need to evaluate all the details below to see if you really want to indulge. JUMP TO: Side effects of alcohol | Best alcoholic beverages to drink | Research on alcohol and type 2 diabetes | Why blood sugar and alcohol aren't a good match | Key tips when drinking alcohol Alcohol and It's Side Effects Ethanol, the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, is formed through the fermentation of fruit and grain sugars. And while casually drinking alcohol may seem like the norm among the general population, diabetics should consider the potential risks before joining in on the drinking festivities. Loss of coordination, impaired judgment, and slowed reflexes are some of the typical side effects of having a little too much to drink, but the stakes are much higher for a person with type 2 diabetes. You see, alcohol is a toxin that must be metabolized and broken down by the liver. The liver is also one of the predominant organs involved in regulating your blood sugar. And unfortunately, the liver can't effectively perform these two separate tasks at the same time. Since the body sees alcohol as a toxin that needs to be removed quickly, this task takes priority over managing your blood glucose levels. So, as you throw back a shot of hard liquor or sip away on a few beers, your blood sugar could potentially drop to dangerously low blood Continue reading >>
5 Reasons Drinking Whisky Is Healthy For You
The historian Raphael Hollinshed wrote about the healthy properties of whisky in his 1577 book Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. "Being moderately taken, it slows the age, cuts phlegm, helps digestion, cures the dropsy, it heals the strangulation, keeps and preserves the head from whirling, the tongue from lisping, the stomach from womblying, the guts from rumbling, the hands from shivering, the bones from aching…and truly it is a sovereign liquor if it be orderly taken." And who am I to argue, especially when it comes to womblying (whatever that is)? It should also be added that during Hollinshed's time, whisky was also used as an antiseptic on battlefields, especially because effective medicine was hard to come by in those days. During America's Prohibition in the 1920s, whisky could be legally imported into the United States because it was considered as a medicine, not a liquor. Back then, it was sold in pharmacies for use as a tonic. It can even lead to a long life. Grace Jones, one of Britain's oldest women, attributes her ripe age of 110 to drinking whisky every night for the last 60 years. Her whisky of choice, by the way, is the Famous Grouse blend. Obviously, if you drink too much whisky every night you probably will suffer more than benefit. But at lower, more moderate quantities, science says that it might be good for you. Here’s what the uisga beatha (Gaelic for "Water of Life") can do for you and your body: Whisky Fights Cancer Whisky has as many anti-oxidants as wine. It contains more ellagic acid (the same antioxidant found in wine) as wine, which helps absorb rogue cells in the body, according to Jim Swan, the celebrated whisky industry consultant dubbed the "Einstein of whisky." at a medical conference in 2005. However, it should be noted Continue reading >>
Whisky Made From Diabetics' Urine 226
It's doubtful that any other distillery will come up with a whisky that tastes like Gilpin Family Whisky because of its secret ingredient: urine. Researcher and designer James Gilpin uses the sugar rich urine of elderly diabetics to make his high-end single malt whisky. From the article: "The source material is acquired from elderly volunteers, including Gilpin's own grandmother, Patricia. The urine is purified in the same way as mains water is purified, with the sugar molecules removed and added to the mash stock to accelerate the whisky's fermentation process. Traditionally, that sugar would be made from the starches in the mash." Continue reading >>
Drinking Alcohol With Diabetes: What Are The Facts?
What You Need to Know About Drinking Alcohol With Diabetes Living with diabetes, especially when it is first diagnosed, can be a minefield as you discover the list of potential lifestyle changes is longer than you first thought. I think if you asked people without experience with diabetes to name three drinks or foods a diabetic should avoid, most of them would name candy, cake and cookies. Thinking about drinks they might name soda, but I wonder how many of them would mention beer, wine or spirits — which can be deadly for those with diabetes. Don’t panic! I’m not suggesting people with the condition should never drink a drop of alcohol. You can still enjoy champagne at a wedding or a cold beer at a barbecue, but alcoholic drinks very much have to be monitored to avoid potentially dangerous sugar spikes, sending blood glucose high or low. Interestingly, the way your body reacts can depend on what form of alcohol you enjoy. Some drinks — like beers, ales and ciders for example — contain carbohydrates and will increase your blood glucose levels for a short period of time. Spirits, dry wines, champagne and other sparkling wines may not have the same effect — some may even lower your blood glucose levels. General advice is for those with diabetes to drink sensibly as defined by government guidelines, eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. American health professionals suggest safe limits are up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men. But what constitutes one drink? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests one drink equals: 12 ounces of beer (5% alcohol content) 18 ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content) 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol content) 5 ounces of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liqu Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Alcohol: Do The Two Mix? (part 1)
A nice glass of Chianti…a cold beer on a hot summer day…celebrating with a flute of champagne. There are so many ways that alcohol is integrated into both everyday life and special occasions. Granted, not everyone drinks alcohol, but many people do. And when it comes to the question, "Can I drink alcohol if I have diabetes?" the answer is about as clear as that for "Is a low-carb diet good for diabetes?" In other words, the answer really is, "It depends!" It’s important to mention right off the bat that there are certainly many reasons why people should not drink alcohol. Some may be related to diabetes and some may be related to other reasons. Therefore, it’s important to discuss this issue with your health-care provider if you have any doubts or concerns. And if you’re newly diagnosed with diabetes or starting on a new medicine, it’s worthwhile bringing up the topic if your provider doesn’t. While you’d be hard-pressed to find any health organization actually recommending that you drink alcohol, you might take some comfort in knowing that the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, and even the American Cancer Society agree that drinking alcohol in moderation is certainly not off-limits to most people. But back to diabetes and alcohol. What’s the concern here? And why should some people with diabetes not drink alcohol? To answer these questions, it’s helpful to understand a little bit about how alcohol is processed in the body. The body treats alcohol as a drug, not as a food product. This means that, when you drink any type of alcoholic beverage, your liver kicks into high gear, preparing itself to “detoxify” the body of this “poison” (I’m using these words for dramatic effect). Essentially, the liver has to metabo Continue reading >>
