A pint of beer helps cut diabetes risk, according to study

Fri, 14 Jan 2011
Drinking a pint of beer a day can reduce the risk of diabetes, as well as cutting high blood pressure and helping people lose weight, according to new research from Spain.

The study found that a moderate intake of beer or ale, combined with exercise and a Mediterranean diet containing fish, fruit and vegetables and olive oil can help combat diabetes, as it contains vitamins, folic acid, iron and calcium and provides similar benefits that drinking wine offers.

The study examined 1,249 men and women over 57 years old, revealing that those who regularly drank moderate amounts of beer were less likely to suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure and had a lower body fat content. People who consumed a Mediterranean diet and drank up to a pint of beer a day "not only did not put on weight, but in some cases even lost weight", according to Estruch.

Ramon Estruch, the lead researcher on the study carried out at Barcelona University, the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and the Carlos III Institute of Health in Madrid, commented "Moderate beer consumption is associated with nutritional and health benefits . It does not necessarily mean weight gain since it has no fat and calorie content is low."

The team claimed that the consumption of fatty foods such as chips, binge drinking and insufficient exercise was to blame for the many health problems faced by people in the UK. The binge drinking culture here was compared to that of Spain, where drinking only small glasses of beer with tapas meant fewer health issues.
Leave a Comment
Login via Facebook, Yahoo! and Hotmail
or
Join the Discussion
Have your full say in the Diabetes Forum
Your comments may be moderated. Please report any spam, illegal, offensive or libellous posts.

Join us