Could red wine help diabetes blood glucose control

Austrian research finds that polyphenol compounds, found in red wine, are able to bind to PPARã proteins helping to reduce levels of glucose, fatty acids and insulin in the blood. This binding is similar to how rosiglitazone anti-diabetic drugs such as Actos, and the recently withdrawn Avandia, work.
A number of red wines were tested and showed that 100 mililetres of the wines, equivalent to a small glass, showed a range of protein binding effects equivalent to up to four times the daily dose of rosiglitazone. By comparison, the wine with the lowest binding effect was equivalent to a quarter of the daily dose of rosiglitazone.
It is hoped that the research could lead the way to new treatments for type 2 diabetes . What the study does not show is how red wine, in its drinkable form, could help blood glucose control . The study, carried out by the Austrian University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, was a laboratory study and did not look at how the polyphenol compounds reacted within humans.
Red wine has been linked with a number of useful benefits in the past including helping to protect against cancer, but the NHS and charity, Diabetes UK, warn that these are only potential benefits of red wine and do not necessarily outweigh the calorific content of red wine.