Research

Mixed

Initiating moderate red wine consumption (150 mL/day) with dinner for two years significantly improves lipid profiles (increased HDL-C, decreased total cholesterol-HDL ratio) and reduces metabolic syndrome components in adults with well-controlled type 2 diabetes compared to mineral water.

If you have well-controlled type 2 diabetes and do not currently drink, you might consider adding one small glass (5 oz) of red wine with your dinner daily, provided you follow a healthy Mediterranean-style diet. This specific pattern has been shown in a 2-year study to improve cholesterol levels and reduce metabolic risk factors without adverse effects. However, this does not apply if you have a history of alcohol abuse, uncontrolled blood sugar, or other specific contraindications like heart disease.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
red wine significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level by 0.05 mmol/L (2.0 mg/dL)... and decreased the total cholesterol–HDL-C ratio by 0.27... Overall, compared with the changes in the water group, red wine further reduced the number of components of the metabolic syndrome by 0.34
Yftach Gepner et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 2015

Why this rating

High-quality randomized controlled trial with 2-year duration and high adherence, though unblinded.

Source

Effects of Initiating Moderate Alcohol Intake on Cardiometabolic Risk in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

Yftach Gepner et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 2015

DOI 10.7326/m14-1650

rct · n=224Cited 192×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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