Drinking in Moderation Shown to Reduce Risk of the Disease
June 1, 2010
The latest research finding on alcohol and diabetes may be surprising to some. According to a recent study, healthy adults who consume one to two glasses of alcohol per day have a decreased chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes than those who do not drink.
Conducted by the National Institute for Public Health and Environment and Dutch medical and scientific centers, the 10-year study followed 35,000 adults between the ages of 20 and 70. Those who maintained a healthy lifestyle and consumed alcohol moderately were 40 percent less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to those who abstained from alcohol entirely. The people who qualified as having a healthy lifestyle met at least three of these four conditions: obesity prevention, adequate exercise, not smoking, and a balanced diet. Moderate drinking was defined as a maximum of one glass per day for women and two glasses per day for men.
The study focused specifically on Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, which is often caused by obesity and is said to affect more than 180 million adults worldwide.
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