Alcohol prevents diabetes

Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol protects women from developing type II diabetes, but the effect of alcohol on inflammation and blood vessel function doesn't appear to explain the relationship.Researchers from United Kingdom investigated the association between alcohol drinking and diabetes. They studies 705 women with type 2 diabetes and 787 matched control subjects. The women involved in the study either did not drink alcohol or consumed 12 gram daily, on an average. A standard drink contains about 10 grams of alcohol. The relationship between baseline alcohol consumption and its effects on inflammation, adiponectin concentration, endothelial dysfunction, blood vessels and insulin resistance were measured. Adiponectin (a hormone secreted by fatty tissues that regulates how the body uses fat and glucose) was found to account for 25 percent of alcohol's protective effect after considering the body weight of the subjects. The risk of being diagnosed with type II diabetes reduced by 42 percent for every 12 grams of increased alcohol intake. The analysis of the data collected showed that moderate drinking can reduce inflammation and improve endothelial function, or the blood vessels' ability to respond to the demands on the cardiovascular system, both of which are linked to diabetes risk. There was also evidence that alcohol consumption may improve the body's sensitivity to insulin. The researchers concluded that apart from adiponectin, other pathways are less important even though inflammation and endothelial dysfunction are related to type II diabetes risk because both are associated with obesity.

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