Recent research from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and the University of Oslo, Norway, shows that postmenopausal women who consumed more than one drink per week had a reduced risk of diabetes. The results of the research were published in the Dec. issue of the Journal of Nutrition (see http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/136/12/3039).
The researchers were investigating the effect of flavonoids on incidence of diabetes in postmenopausal women, hypothesizing that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of flavonoids might protect against diabetes. Although flavonoid-rich foods did not show an effect on diabetes risk in the study group, red wine showed an inverse effect on diabetes risk; similar findings were determined with white wine, beer and liquor. Women who reported drinking red wine more than once per week showed a 16% reduced risk of diabetes compared to women who consumed red wine less than once per week.
Since all types of alcohol showed a link to reduced risk of diabetes, the researchers suggested that the protective effect might not come from the flavonoids, but from some nonflavonoid constituents common to all alcohol drinks.
