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Drinking Alcohol and Type 2 Diabetes (Adult Onset or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes)

Type 2 diabetes is a very serious disease can lead to problems such as blindness, impotence, loss of limbs, and death. It effects tens of millions of people.

Fortunately, the moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, liquor or distilled spirits) reduces the risk of developing diabetes. For example:

• Medical researchers examined the results of 15 different prospective studies and found that moderate drinkers are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than are abstainers. Teetotalers and heavy drinkers have equally high risk of the disease.
  
  The 15 studies were conducted in the U.S., Japan, Finland, Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK and followed a total of 369,862 men and women for an average of 12 years.
  
  Moderate drinkers (those who drank between about a half a drink to four drinks per day) were found to be 30% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than abstainers or heavy drinkers.
  
  Whether drinkers consume beer, wine or distilled spirits makes little difference, but the pattern of consumption does. It's much better to consume frequently (such as daily) rather than infrequently for maximum health benefits. ¹

  A Standard Drink

  It's important to remember that the alcohol content of a standard drink of beer, dinner wine, or distilled spirits are equivalent. ¹⁴ To a breathalyzer, they are all the same.

  A standard drink is:

  • A 12-ounce bottle or can of regular beer
  • A 5-ounce glass of wine
  • A one and 1/2 ounce of 80 proof distilled spirits (either straight or in a mixed drink)
• An analysis of pairs of twins with different drinking patterns found that those who consumed alcohol in moderation had half the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who consumed less alcohol. The study involved nearly 23,000 Finnish twins. ²
• A study of almost 21,000 physicians for over 12 years found that men who are light to moderate drinkers have a decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. ³
• A study of 8,663 men over a period of as long as 25 years found that the incidence of type 2 diabetes was significantly lower among moderate drinkers than among either abstainers or heavy drinkers. These findings persisted after adjusting for age, smoking, blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, waist circumference, parental diabetes, fasting plasma glucose, body mass index (BMI), serum triglyceride concentration, and cardiorespiratory fitness. ⁴
• Pre-menstrual women who consume a daily drink of beer, wine or distilled
  spirits (whiskey, rum, tequila, etc.) have a much lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than abstainers according to a study that duplicates similar findings in men. The Harvard study involved about 110,000 women age 25 to 42 over a ten-year period. Dramatic reductions (about 60%) occurred among women who drank between 1/2 and two drinks daily compared to abstainers. The reduction of risk was lower for those who drank less. ⁵
• Drinking alcohol (beer, wine, or distilled spirits) in moderation was associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes among women age 40-70 in a large study in the Netherlands that followed them for an average of over six years. The authors wrote that the "findings support the evidence of a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes with moderate alcohol consumption and expand this to a population of older women." ⁶
• Research conducted at the University of Padova Medical School in Italy found that consuming alcohol directly improved the action of insulin in both healthy diabetics. Alcohol also improved fatty acid levels. ⁷
• Metabolic Syndrome refers to a dangerous cluster of conditions that can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Researchers at Boston Medical Center analyzed data from 8,125 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Study. They found that drinkers had a 43 percent lower chance of having Metabolic Syndrome than did abstainers or non-drinkers. ⁸
• Non-diabetic postmenopausal women can reduce insulin concentrations and improve insulin sensitivity by consuming alcohol in moderation, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition researchers.
  
  The investigators found that moderate consumption of alcohol, compared to abstention, reduced fasting insulin concentration by 19.2%, triglyceride concentration by 10.3%, and increased insulin sensitivity by 7.2%. Normal weight, overweight and obese women experienced similar results. The moderate consumption of alcohol significantly reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. ⁹

  Standard Drinks

  Standard Drinks graphically illustrates information on the equivalence of standard drinks of beer, wine and distilled spirits or liquor. Its accuracy has been established by medical and other health professionals.

• To examine the affects of alcohol consumption on diabetes risk, a Harvard prospective study of 41,810 men 40-75 years of age over a period of six years was conducted. After controlling for known risk factors, it was found that men who drank higher amounts of alcohol had a reduced risk of diabetes. Compared to abstainers, men who drank two to three drinks per day experienced a 39% reduced risk of diabetes. In short, moderate alcohol consumption significantly reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. ¹⁰
• A major review of the epidemiological evidence regarding women found that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol contributes significantly to reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The disease is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death among women in the United States. ¹¹
• A randomized diet-controlled experimental study of middle-aged men found that moderate alcohol consumption (four drinks of whiskey per day) improved insulin sensitivity in relatively insulin-resistant subjects. They reported that these findings are consistent with observational studies. ¹²

In a cross-sectional community survey (The New Mexico Elder Health Survey), researchers found that alcohol abstainers, because of their relative hyperinsulinemia appear to be more insulin resistant than daily moderate drinkers. They conclude that this difference in insulin sensitivity may explain the lower prevalence of diabetes in drinkers compared with abstainers observed in various epidemiological studies. ¹³

Much scientific medical research has established that the moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, and liquor or distilled spirits) reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The health benefits associated with drinking in moderation are also similar for beer, wine and spirits. The primary factor associated with health and longevity appears to be the alcohol itself.

 

Note: This website does not provide medical advice or opinion and none should be inferred.