Beer Does Not Contain Sugar But Can Increase Blood Sugar Level

I have always heard people say that beer contains a lot of sugar even though it is bitter. They claim that sugary drinks like Coca cola contain less amount of sugar compared to beer. I decided to take a day off to do my own investigation. What I found out will amaze you.

Sugar in beer

Does Beer Contain Sugar

Before we answer the question, let us first of all find out how beer is made. First thing first, we know beer is bitter. Beer is made from water, grain, hops, and yeast. The grain — which is usually malted barley — is the source of the sugar. On its own, it’s quite sweet. This is where the yeast comes in; these microorganisms enable the fermentation of the sugars in the malted barley, forming alcohol. The hops add the bitterness that is characteristic of beer.

Read Also: Sugar from garri and other natural food is better than sugar from Sugary drinks

Therefore, while beer contains a fair amount of carbs, its sugar content tends to be quite low. Beer's sugar content is comprised of 80% fermentable sugars and 20% oligosaccharides. Yeast can't digest oligosaccharides, but neither can your body. Thus, beer's final sugar content may still be quite low.

Beer does not contain sugar. This is surprising to many people because beer has a reputation as a beverage that will pack on the pounds and stretch out your waistline, creating the dreaded beer belly. But looking at how the drink is made, you’ll understand why beer’s sugar content is nonexistent. However, this cannot be said of other alcohol especially wine.

So, does beer have sugar in it? This process shows us that the sugar in beer is actually turned into alcohol. So beer doesn’t have sugar exactly, but it does have carbohydrates.

Can Beer Cause Blood Sugar To Rise

Because of the wrong information that beer contains more sugar than sugary drinks, the answer is always yes. However, I will use scientific evidence to answer this question.

Beer contains carbohydrates. The primary source of carbohydrates in beer are polysaccharides, starch, pentosan (arabinoxylan) and β-glucan together with saccharose. The total is about 3.6g in 100g or 12g in a regular bottle.

Read Also: Drug That Interact With Alcohol And Their Potential Effects When Taken Together

Effect Of Beer On Diabetes

While moderate amounts of alcohol may cause blood sugar to rise, excess alcohol can actually decrease your blood sugar level -- sometimes causing it to drop into dangerous levels, especially for people with type 1 diabetes. Alcohol does this by creating an initial sugar spike that makes your body process sugar at a higher rate, causing the spike in sugar to be quickly metabolized below what is normal.

Also, alcohol makes your blood sugar levels drop by inhibiting the liver's ability to release glucose. Too much alcohol may cause chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which can impair its ability to secrete insulin and potentially lead to diabetes.