Red wine may be good for type 2 diabetic patients

FROM reducing blood pressure to protecting the cells from ageing, several recent studies have sung the praises for red wine. Now, new findings suggest that a glass of red wine every night may have some benefit particularly to the cardiovascular health of individuals with type 2 diabetes. In comparison to non-diabetics, those with type 2 diabetes are more prone to heart disease.

Researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) conducted a two-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) on 224 controlled diabetes patients (aged 45 to 75), who were generally not alcohol drinkers. They gradually started moderate wine consumption, as part of a healthy diet platform (and not before driving).

Based on the RCT, researchers found that red – as well as white – wine could improve sugar control. But this would depend on alcohol metabolism genetic profiling. In well-controlled diabetics, moderate wine consumption as part of a healthy diet shows to lower cardio-metabolic risk.

They also found that only the slow alcohol-metabolizers who drank wine achieved an improvement in blood sugar control. Fast alcohol-metabolizers (with much faster blood alcohol clearance) did not benefit from the ethanol’s glucose control effect. Approximately one in five participants was found to be a fast alcohol-metabolizer, identified through ADH enzyme genetic variants tests.

Furthermore, researchers learned that either red or white wine did not effect change in blood pressure, liver function tests, adiposity, or adverse events/symptoms. But the test subjects were able to sleep better compared to the control group that consumed water. All comparisons were adjusted for changes in clinical, medical and drug therapy parameters occurring among patients during the years of the study.

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