Australian researcher Jennie C. Brand-Miller (University of Sydney) and colleagues, like other medical researchers, did not know how alcohol was able to beneficially affect the risk from chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Past research had found that alcohol (1) raises high-density lipoproteins (HDL, or what is called “good” cholesterol) and (2) helps the body more efficiently use insulin, which allows  the human body to better control blood-glucose levels.

But, the mechanism, itself, was unknown.

Her team decided to perform a study using beer, wine, and gin to find out the mechanism for moderate amounts of alcohol to help lower blood glucose levels in the human body, thus, reducing the risks of getting type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

They discovered that moderate amounts of alcohol directly helped to release glucose from human tissues within muscles and the liver. Specially, the study declared: “In realistic settings, alcoholic beverage consumption lowers postprandial glycemia by 16–37%, which represents an unrecognized mechanism by which alcohol may reduce the risk of chronic disease.”

Postprandial (post-meal) glycemia is the concentration of glucose in human blood after eating a meal.

The Brand-Miller team studied young, healthy human subjects who were given beer, white wine, and gin on different days. Amounts were provided to represent a moderate amount of actual daily drinking. In the first part of the study, each subject was given calorie-equivalent amounts of either an alcoholic drink or a slice of white bread.

Phase-one results showed that eating bread raised blood glucose and lowered insulin levels more than drinking alcohol.

In the second part of the study, each subject was given a sandwich made from only margarine and served with an alcoholic drink or water. The alcohol reduced the blood-glucose level caused by the sandwich more than did the water with the sandwich. However, insulin levels were not different between alcohol drinkers and water drinkers.

The third part of the study gave the human subjects two glasses of water, gin-and-tonic, beer, or white wine one hour before eating potatoes. Blood glucose levels were lowered after the meal after drinking any of the types of alcohol. However, the researchers found that only gin increased the insulin level after the meal, while the other types of alcohol did no better than the water.

They conclude that moderate drinking of any type of alcohol helps to control blood-glucose levels, however, any alcoholic drinking in excess of these modest amounts (about one to two drinks each day) could possibly eliminate the benefits to reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The results of the Brand-Miller team appear in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition under the title “Effect of alcoholic beverages on postprandial glycemia and insulinemia in lean, young, healthy adults”. The abstract of the study appears at: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/6/1545.

The team consists of Brand-Miller, along with Kaniz Fatima, Christopher Middlemiss, Marian Bare, Vicki Liu, Fiona Atkinson, and Peter Petocz, all from the Human Nutrition Unit of the University of Sydney, in Australia.

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