Andrew > if u stick to dry wine or cider there will be no blood sugar problems. in fact, it helps keep it stable in reasonable quantities. if u drink a barrel full, you can get hypoglycemic since the alcohol metabolism stops the liver from releasing glucose as it would nromally do periodically. then you fall down dead drunk. its a hypoglycemic attack rather than the alcohol per se. eat while you drink like the spanish do, high protein foods, and there will be no problems

Jim > Know what?  There ARE problems for me.  I found your post fascinating, so last night I semi-consciously decided to give the alcohol and protein thing a try.

I cooked two chicken breasts to eat with my wine and had whey protein as a backup.  With my dry white wine, I consumed plenty of the protein.  Just like you predicted, I believe the effect was that I was more cogent and felt the effects of the alcohol less for having eaten protein with my meal.  In other words, from a mind sharpness standpoint, I was better than normal for the same amount of alcohol.  So far so good.  Problem is, with the protein or without, I did not get any signals to stop!  I polished off the entire bottle and wanted more.  I stopped myself from opening that other bottle, but instead talked my wife into running to the store to get us each a pint of Haagen Daaz ice cream, all of which I devoured.  I am now wide awake at 4:30am, unable to sleep since 3:00.  (Which is common if I have more than two glasses of wine in the evening).

The point is this.  The protein did help me not fall down drunk, it is sure.  But it seems to have masked even more the signal to stop drinking.  You must understand that pre-paleo, I NEVER had issues with alcohol.  I’d have a glass or two or beer or wine and feel no need to continue.  Since I’ve been paleo for the past three years, I am not getting the signal. And, although I have experimented extensively with wine – trying to have two glasses of red wine a night because I thought it was good for me (even going to the point of installing a small temperature-controlled wine cellar in my closet) – drinking the stuff simply DOES NOT WORK for me. 

This is a new understanding brought on by my diet and my attempts to get a "healthful" glass or two or red wine: I NOW KNOW WHAT ALCOHOLISM IS LIKE.  I will never look down upon an alcoholic again because, although there are most certainly willpower issues with the disease, it is such a slippery slope if you’re not getting the signal.  It is fascinating that I got the signal pre-diet and now don’t!  I'd love to hear anyone's theories as to why this happens.

From Theola’s post on Dr. Atkins: “alcoholism is so tied in with carbohydrate metabolism that it is fair to say they are ‘genetically superimposable.’" 

Consumption of concentrated forms of sugar, be they wine, honey, or sweet tarts, is NOT paleo.