Glass of wine with dinner lowers type 2 diabetes risk, study finds

Research presented at a conference at the American Heart Association has found that those who drink a glass of wine with dinner are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared with people who eat without wine.
Researchers undertook analysis of more than 300,000 Britons on the UK biobank database. Over roughly 11 years of follow up, 8,600 patients developed type 2 diabetes. The study focused its attention on those who were defined as moderate drinkers. After adjusting for other potential factors, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was 14 percent lower for those who drank with their food, with greatest risk reduction seen in those who consumed wine.
“The effects of alcohol consumption on health have been described as a double-edged sword because of its apparent abilities to cut deeply in either direction — harmful or helpful — depending on how it is consumed,” said study author Hao Ma, from the Tulane University Obesity Research Center in New Orleans.
Noting the “mixed results” of previous studies that focused on how much people drink, Ma said it was time to examine other factors, saying that very few studies have focused on other drinking details, such as the timing of alcohol intake.
The study’s authors hypothesised that some chemicals found in wine, or possibly even the alcohol itself, could alter the way in which individuals metabolise glucose, therefore altering their risk of developing diabetes.
The study was presented at the American Heart Association Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference in Chicago