
Regular alcohol consumption could cut diabetes risk, study finds
Regularly drinking a moderate amount of certain alcoholic drinks could reduce a person’s chances of developing diabetes, according to a study.
Consuming alcohol three or four days a week was associated with a reduced risk of developing diabetes – a 27% reduction in men and a 32% reduction in women – compared with abstaining, scientists found.
Wine was considered particularly beneficial, probably because it has chemical compounds that improve blood sugar balance, researchers in Denmark found.
Gin could have the opposite effect, along with other spirits, increasing women’s chances of getting diabetes by 83%.
Experts said the findings, published in the journal Diabetologia, should not be seen as a green light to drink more than existing NHS guidelines suggest.
The authors of the research, led by Prof Janne Tolstrup from the University of Southern Denmark, wrote: “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.”
In the past, studies have suggested that light to moderate drinking can reduce the risk of developing diabetes but there has been no research into the frequency of alcohol consumption.
Scientists studied data on 70,551 men and women who took part in a Danish survey. Respondents were quizzed about their drinking habits and monitored for five years.
Afterwards, participants were followed up and 859 men and 887 women had developed diabetes. The
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