Wine and beer enthusiasts can rejoice at this bit of news: moderate drinking could lower a person’s risk of developing diabetes, a new study says.
Drinking alcohol three to four times a week can significantly reduce the risk for diabetes, researchers say. Wine is the most beneficial in this case, followed by beer, CNBC reports. On the other hand, clear spirits like gin and vodka might do more harm than good, especially for women.
However, health experts argue that the impact of alcohol consumption on health is different per person, and this study’s results should not be taken as a go signal for people to drink excessively.
The researchers studied over 70,000 Danish volunteers, surveying their drinking habits over a five-year period. There were 859 men and 887 women who developed either type 1 or type 2 diabetes during the study, but those who drank frequently came out as having the lowest risk.
The lowest risk for diabetes was observed to be at 14 drinks per week for men, and nine drinks per week for women. Janne Tolstrup from the University of Southern Denmark said,
Our findings suggest that alcohol drinking frequency is associated with the risk of diabetes and that consumption of alcohol over three to four weekdays is associated with the lowest risks of diabetes, even after taking average weekly alcohol consumption into account.
The study concluded that moderate but regular drinking could help decrease a woman’s risk for diabetes by 32%, and a man’s risk by 27%, compared to people who only drink less than once a week.
For both sexes, wine reduced the risk by over 25% and beer by 21%. Clear spirits appeared to increase women’s chances of developing diabetes by 83%, though.
Diabetes UK, a British charity that supports diabetic patients, cautions, “Type 2 diabetes risk is complex. Several factors contribute to it, including family history, ethnic background, age and being overweight. While these findings are interesting, we wouldn’t recommend people see them as a green light to drink in excess of the existing NHS guidelines.”
The study was published in European medical journal Diabetologia.
