Would beer without alcohol be okay for diabetic patients?

Advice by Dr. Kim Byung-jun, Professor of Endocrinology at Gachon Gil Hospital

A. Filter out 'non-alcoholic' products and check for carbohydrates and sugars.

Non-alcoholic beer refers to beer that has reduced alcohol content but is flavored with sugars. An average can of regular beer contains about 18g of carbohydrates and 0g of sugars. However, an average can of non-alcoholic beer contains about 35g of carbohydrates and 15g of sugars. Drinking just two cans of non-alcoholic beer exceeds the daily sugar intake limit (25g). Excessive sugar intake is a cause of blood sugar spikes. Although it contains no alcohol, the carbohydrate and sugar content is not necessarily low, so overconsumption should be avoided.

You also need to pay close attention to beer. Non-alcoholic beer is divided into alcohol-free beer with 0.0% alcohol content and near-beer with less than 1% alcohol content.

Considering that the alcohol content of regular beer is around 5%, non-alcoholic beer contains a small amount of alcohol, which is relatively low but still present. Even a small amount of alcohol can cause peripheral nerve damage, so it is best to avoid it if possible.

If you must drink, choose products with low carbohydrate and sugar content and limit yourself to two glasses. It is also good to select dry snacks with low calories as side dishes.