A drink a day

Previous research has linked moderate drinking with lower diabetes risk,but the new study tried to get at why that might be by looking specifically at women with high-glycemic diets that is,diets high in the refined carbs that are prone to raise blood sugar.

If you eat a high carb diet without drinking alcohol,your risk of developing diabetes is increased by 30 per cent, said senior author Dr Frank Hu,who studies nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston,Massachusetts.

However,if you eat a high carb diet,but drink a moderate amount of alcohol,the increased risk is reduced, he told Reuters Health.

The new study,published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,doesnt prove alcohol protects against diabetes. But Hu and his colleagues speculate that alcohol might affect the bodys release of insulin and other substances after a meal,blunting the blood-sugar spikes that promote diabetes.

Hus team analysed data on 82,000 women participating in the long-term Nurses Health Study. After 26 years of follow-up,6,950 women,or about nine per cent,who were diabetes free at the outset had developed the condition.

The researchers also examined participants diets,including alcohol,based on surveys taken every four years.

Overall,the women who ate the most refined carbs,such as breakfast cereals,breads,mashed potatoes,colas and orange juice,and whose diets included a lot of meat,were at highest risk of developing diabetes.

But within that group,moderate drinkers those whose average alcohol intake was more than 15 grams about half an ounce a day had a 30 per cent lower risk than women who didnt drink at all.

Though Hu isnt encouraging people to start drinking alcohol as a means of diabetes prevention,he does think the study reveals an interesting interaction between alcohol and carbs.

We still advocate a diet with reduced refined carbs, he said. And for people who drink,they should do so moderately.