Study: Moderate Alcohol Use May Reduce Diabetes Risk

Drinking is a high-risk activity for people with diabetes, but a new study finds that moderate alcohol use could help protect some against getting the disease in the first place, Reuters reported April 27.

Researchers who studies 35,000 Dutch adults and controlled for other lifestyle factors concluded that moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes when compared to alcohol abstinence. The risk reduction was seen in individuals who were already at less risk of the disease because of other protective factors, such as eating a healthy diet and abstaining from smoking.

Researcher Michel M. Joosten of Wageningen University said that moderate drinking “can be part of a healthy lifestyle to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, even if you already comply with multiple other low-risk lifestyle (behaviors).”

The study was published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.