Taming Type 2 Diabetes

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If you’ve discovered that you have type 2 diabetes, you know that you are going to have to make some changes in your lifestyle, and, in particular, in your diet.  You’ve probably been given guidelines on balancing your meals and carbohydrate consumption and all that, but have you been given any information on diabetes and alcohol?

Do you know how alcohol can affect diabetes?  Can it contribute to someone’s developing the disease?  Can it worsen their condition if they have diabetes? Or . . .

Although I do have type 2 diabetes, I’m not what’s considered a “big drinker.”  I do, however, have relatives who have diabetes and drink, some to the point of being considered “big drinkers.”  So, I decided to do a some research, and I have to say that the results were a little surprising.  The most surprising thing I learned concerns the benefits of alcohol in connection with reducing the risk of diabetes.



Alcohol and Diabetes Risk

According to  Alcohol: Problems and Solutions (http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/HealthIssues/1104370191.html), “drinking alcohol in moderation is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes.” The risk can be 30%-40% lower.  They go on to say that – based on the findings of 15 different studies — moderate drinkers are even less likely to develop the disease than are those who abstain!

Well, that’s good news.  Even great news . . . but what if you already have type 2 diabetes?



One Benefit of Alcohol If You Have Diabetes

According  to the American Diabetes Association, light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol are associated with a  decreased risk of heart disease in those with diabetes.

A Harvard study of over 5,000 women with type 2 diabetes found that the rates of coronary heart disease (CHD)  “in women who reported moderate alcohol intake” were significantly lower than in women who did not drink at all.  And, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, for individuals with older-onset diabetes, light-to-moderate alcohol consumption appeared to reduce the risk of CHD by up to 80%.

So, if you’ve learned that you have type 2 diabetes, alcohol is one thing you might not have to give up! Yea!

But, before you grab that cocktail shaker, you need to know the right way to include alcohol in your diabetic diet.  To reap the advantages and avoid possible complications, you need to follow the rules and guidelines.  In my next post, we’ll see what you need to know about those.