Good news, wine and beer lovers: A new study finds that "moderate but regular" alcohol consumption appears to be linked to a lower risk of developing diabetes. Researchers surveyed more than 70,000 Danish participants over a five-year period and found that men who reported drinking 14 drinks a week and women who reported drinking nine per week were at the lowest risk (41% lower for men than those who did not drink, 58% lower for women), CNBC reports. "Our findings suggest that alcohol drinking frequency is associated with the risk of diabetes and that consumption of alcohol over three to four weekdays is associated with the lowest risks of diabetes," a researcher says. The lead author adds, "For the same total weekly amount of alcohol, spreading it out on more days is better than drinking it all together."
Overall, drinking three to four days a week was linked to a 27% lower risk of diabetes (men) or 32% lower risk (women) than drinking less than one day a week, LiveScience reports. A caveat: While wine was found to be the best choice (the researchers hypothesize this could be because the polyphenol compounds in red wine could help with blood sugar management), followed by beer (for men only), clear spirits including gin and vodka were found to be linked with an increased risk of developing diabetes for women. Of course, outside health experts are warning people to be careful and not take this study as an excuse to over-indulge. And Time notes that while other studies have found a link between moderate drinking and a reduced risk, heavy drinking is known to increase diabetes risk. (More alcohol is good for you stories.)
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