L. Cordain et al., Influence of moderate chronic wine consumption on insulin sensitivity and other correlates of syndrome X in moderately obese women, METABOLISM, 49(11), 2000, pp. 1473-1478
Epidemiologic studies indicate that alcohol consumption is associated with
improved insulin sensitivity; however, scant experimental evidence confirms
this observation. To determine the effects of regular moderate wine consum
ption on insulin sensitivity, 20 overweight women (body mass index [BMI], 2
9.8 +/- 2.2 kg/m(2)) participated in a 20-week free-living randomized cross
over trial. The subjects, serving as their own controls, consumed wine (190
mt red wine, 13% vol/vol ethanol, 5 days per week) for 10 weeks and abstai
ned for 10 weeks or vice versa. The dependent variables (body weight, BMO,
percent body fat, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and insulin, blood
lipids, dietary intake, and insulin sensitivity by intravenous glucose tole
rance test [IVGTT]) were measured at the pretest, at the 10-week crossover,
and at the 20-week completion of the study. Data were analyzed at the pret
est and at completion of the wine drinking and abstention periods of the st
udy using ANOVA by order of treatment. Fasting glucose remained unchanged (
mean +/- SD; P > .05) throughout the experiment (pretest, drinking, and abs
tention, 91.1 +/- 9.2, 91.6 +/- 9.1, and 88.5 +/- 11.2 mg/dL), as did the m
easures of insulin sensitivity, fasting insulin (pretest, drinking, and abs
tention, 8.6 +/- 3.3, 8.6 +/- 4.1, and 9.1 +/- 4.7 muU/mg) and the insulin
sensitivity index (3.60 +/- 2.96, 3.25 +/- 2.17, and 3.30 +/- 1.84). Body c
omposition and blood lipids also remained unchanged (P > .05) during treatm
ent. Moderate wine consumption at this dose in overweight women did not imp
rove or impair insulin sensitivity, nor did it change any of the known corr
elates of insulin sensitivity, including body weight and composition, blood
lipids, and blood pressure. Copyright (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.