Glass of red wine could help with diabetes

RED wine has been claimed to do everything from keep people mentally agile to ward off bed bugs – but now a study suggests that a glass every night could also benefit diabetics.

In a trial of more than 220 type 2 diabetes patients, people who drank an 150ml glass of red wine with their dinner for two years showed significantly higher levels of “good cholesterol”, or HDL, compared to those who drank white wine.

The wine was kept the same for the two years, and all participants were instructed to follow a Mediterranean diet high in fruit and vegetables, fish and olive oil.

Diabetes, which is caused by the body’s failure to produce or effectively use inulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, affects around 382 million people around the world.

It increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, with sufferers more prone to high levels of “bad cholesterol” or LDL. The disease is predicted by The World Health Organisation to be the seventh leading cause of death by 2030.

The study, which was led by Professor Iris Shai of Ben-Gurion University in Israel, also found that drinkers of both white and red wine tended to have better blood sugar control, if they were able to metabolise alcohol quickly. Wine did not seem to affect medication.

The researchers said that their findings suggested “moderate wine intake” could be useful in helping diabetics stay healthy, but Professor Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of Nutrition and Dietetics, King’s College London, said that the benefits were far from clear-cut.

“Alcohol intake is well known to increase high density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations,” he said. “However, there is a lack of evidence to show that increasing HDL concentration translates into reduced risk of cardiovascular disease or other disease outcomes.

“The participants consumed one 150 ml glass of wine daily, equivalent to 21 units of alcohol per week (upper recommended limits are 21 and 14 units/week for men and women).

While intakes at this level may not be harmful, higher intakes certainly increase blood pressure and risk of all-cause mortality, and even low intakes increase risk of cancer especially of the liver and upper digestive tract. In my experience any health claims made for red wine need to be regarded with a jaundiced eye.”