Modest Drinking Offers Protection

Adults might benefit from lower carbohydrate intake. But women who do eat a lot of carbs seem to lower their risk of diabetes with a few drinks a week. These data come from the Nurses’ Health Study of roughly 80,000 women over 26 years. Those who ate a diet containing lots of mashed potatoes, breakfast cereals, bread, soft drinks and orange juice had an increased risk of developing diabetes during the study. Women who ate a similar diet, but consumed roughly half an ounce of alcohol daily–about two drinks a week–reduced their chance of a diabetes diagnosis by about 30 percent.
The researchers emphasize that a diet low in refined carbohydrates is best, and they aren’t recommending that people start drinking if they don’t already. Heavy drinking had no impact on diabetes risk, so they recommend that women who do drink should be moderate in their imbibing.

[American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online, Nov. 2, 2011]