Red wine can help people with type 2 diabetes to avoid heart disease.
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The study showed that the group of red wine drinkers had an increase in HDL, or “good cholesterol”.
The red wine drinkers experienced the most significant changes in lipid variables, suggesting the potential synergy of moderate alcohol intake with specific nonalcoholic wine constituents. Iris Shai, principal investigator of the CASCADE trial, and a member of the Department of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, “The differences found between red and white wine were opposed to our original hypothesis that the beneficial effects of wine are mediated predominantly by the alcohol”.
The two-year CArdiovaSCulAr Diabetes and Ethanol (CASCADE) randomized controlled intervention trial was performed on 224 controlled diabetes patients (aged 45 to 75), who generally abstained from alcohol.
The patients were randomised into three equal groups according to whether they consumed a five-ounce serving (150ml) of mineral water, white wine or red wine with dinner every night for two years.
I know that’s a little confusing, but in the end, researchers concluded dry red wine led to greater health benefits than white wine or mineral water. They also lowered their risk of heart disease, as indicated by a lower ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol. They predicted similar effects of red and white wine.
All groups followed a non-calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet with adherence monitored using several validated assessment tools.
Wine’s effect on blood sugar levels was probably due to the alcohol itself, Shai suggested.
Lipid and glycemic control profiles were primarily measured.
Of 203 study participants with available DNA samples, 35.6% were homozygous for the wild-type C allele ADH1B*1 (slow ethanol metabolizers), and 21.3% were homozygous for ADH1B*2 (fast ethanol metabolizers).
And there was one more benefit linked to this research – the moderate wine consumption, significantly improved sleep quality for diabetics in the study which is unusual, because alcohol often interferes with sleep.
In the study neither red or white wine had any effect on blood pressure, liver function, adiposity or adverse events or symptoms.
And the researchers can’t say fewer heart attacks or deaths occur among people who drink wine at dinner, compared to people who drink mineral water. “In the combined red and white wine group, however, the improvements in glycemic control were mostly achieved among carriers of ADH1B*1.” But the authors of the current study said that future research should explore whether even the modest phenolic concentrations found in a single glass of red wine might offer measurable health benefits.
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Limitations include the participants not being blinded to treatment allocation, but the long-term nature of the study is a strength.
