How Drinking Can Prevent
Type 2 Diabetes
I know – you are all thinking – Dr. Jack has to be talking about drinking something other than alcohol in this newsletter. But…
I’m not….
The question is – Does drinking alcohol increase your risk of getting diabetes? Or does it decrease your risk? And if it has any of these effects, how much alcohol are we talking about? A meta-analysis looking at the answer to this question was recently published, and the results will surprise you.**A meta-analysis is a study that reviews all of the literature on a topic to see what the overall data shows. This kind of study tends to be much more accurate than individual studies.
The Authors…
of the study point out that several population studies have already suggested that moderate levels of alcohol consumption can reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. Because of certain inaccuracies that can develop in population studies the authors decided to look at all of the existing information dealing with this topic.
The authors systematically identified 38 studies that looked at the association between how much alcohol people drink and the likelihood that they would eventually get type-2 diabetes. Altogether the studies looked at almost two million men and women. And out of that group, 125,926 developed type-2 diabetes. Here’s what the researchers found.
When compared to non-drinkers, the men and women who drank less than 63 grams of alcohol per day were less likely to get type-2 diabetes. However, when people drank more than that, the risk started to increase. The lowest rate for getting diabetes was in the men and women who drank less than 10-14 grams per day. They were a full 18% less likely to get diabetes than non-drinkers. And here’s something interesting. The risk reduction effect from moderate alcohol was good for everyone except Asian men. So how much alcohol does this amount to?
You get about 63 grams of alcohol in 18 ounces of wine, 45 ounces of beer, and 2.5 ounces of liquor. And the optimal risk reduction threshold of 10-14 grams amounts to about 3.5 ounces of wine, 9 ounces of beer, and 1/2 ounce of liquor.
Yours for better health,
Dr. Jack Belitz, DC
PS.So this study suggests that to have the best chance to avoid type 2 diabetes, you should have a glass of wine, a can of beer or a mixed drink every day. The thing is that this change in your diet won’t address any weight issues you may be having. I have talked along time about how to maintain healthy weight, which (surprisingly) also can have a positive effect with your diabetes.
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