Consuming alcohol, and in particular red wine, with meals was associated with a 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to consuming alcohol without food, according to a new study .
The potential benefit of moderate drinking — 1 drink for women, two for men — was evident only among people who drank alcohol with meals.
Consuming wine, beer and liquor had different associations with type 2 diabetes risk. While a higher amount of wine intake was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, a higher amount of beer or liquor was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
“The message from this study is that drinking moderate amounts of wine with meals may prevent type 2 diabetes if you do not have another health condition that may be negatively affected by moderate alcohol consumption and in consultation with your doctor,” said study author Hao Ma, M.D., Ph.D., a biostatistical analyst at the Tulane University Obesity Research Center in New Orleans.
Despite the findings of this robust analysis of healthy drinkers, the relationship between alcohol consumption and new-onset type 2 diabetes remains controversial, according to Robert H. Eckel, M.D., FAHA, a past president (2005-2006) of the American Heart Association, who was not involved in the study.
“These data suggest that it’s not the alcohol with meals but other ingredients in wine, perhaps antioxidants, that may be the factor in potentially reducing new-onset type 2 diabetes. While the type of wine, red versus white, needs to be defined, and validation of these findings and mechanisms of benefit are needed, the results suggest that if you are consuming alcohol with meals, wine may be a better choice,” said Eckel, professor of medicine, emeritus in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes and the Division of Cardiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
The study involved an analysis of health data for 312,000 current drinkers and was presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2022.
“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 Ma. “Previous studies have focused on how much people drink and have had mixed results. Very few studies have focused on other drinking details, such as the timing of alcohol intake.”