How a Daily Drink Can Help Diabetics

I’ve posted several pieces about the benefits to health of 1-2 alcoholic drinks a day (2 a day for men, 1 a day for women). Most recently, I’ve suggested these limits may be exceeded, a little, without loss of the benefit. Now the advantages of a drink a day has been extended to diabetics. The results of a study conducted in Israel and reported in Diabetes Care show that, in non-drinker diabetics, a glass of wine a day for 3 months deceased fasting blood glucose levels. The ‘control’ group in this study took a glass of non-alcoholic beer at dinner, instead of wine. The wine group average fasting blood glucose fell from 140 mg/dL to 118 mg/dl, while the beer drinkers’ increased from 137 to 139 mg/dL. Post-prandial (2-hour) levels were unaltered by the wine or the beer.

How does the alcohol work? Animal studies indicate alcohol produces a large redistribution of blood flow within the pancreas; specifically, it sends more blood to the islets (the source of insulin).

These findings shouldn’t be taken as advice to diabetics to drink alcohol instead of taking their anti-diabetic meds. However, as a diabetic myself, I don’t mind taking the occasional therapeutic drink . . .