Last Updated Oct 14, 2015 7:10 AM EDT A glass of red wine each evening with dinner may offer heart health perks to people with type 2 diabetes.A two-year study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine is the first long-term study aimed at assessing the effects and safety of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol in people with type 2 diabetes, who are more at risk for developing cardiovascular disease than the general population. Those with type 2 diabetes also tend to have lower levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol.The researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reported that over two years, red wine helped improve signs of cardiac health by modestly increasing levels of HDL cholesterol and lowering overall cholesterol. The randomized controlled intervention trial involved 224 controlled diabetes patients aged 45 to 75, who generally abstained from alcohol. The patients were randomly assigned to drink 5 ounces of red wine, white wine, or mineral water (the control group) with their dinner for two years.

They were all given instructions to follow a well-balanced Mediterranean diet plan that did not have a calorie restriction.The researchers performed genetic tests that showed how quickly the patients metabolized alcohol, as well as various lipid (cholesterol) tests. pared with the group that drank water, patients in the red wine group had improvements in their lipid tests, the study showed. "Red wine was found to be superior in improving overall metabolic profiles, mainly by modestly improving the lipid profile, by increasing good HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1, one of the major constituents of HDL cholesterol, while decreasing the ratio between total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol," the researchers explained.Also, in both wine groups, patients who were "slow alcohol metabolizers" (according to the genetic tests) showed more improvements in glucose control tests than "fast alcohol metabolizers." Compared with water, wine did not increase or decrease blood pressure or liver function tests.

The study authors noted that in both red and white wine drinkers, sleep quality was significantly improved, too, compared with the water control group. Iris Shai, principal investigator of the trial, and a member of the Department of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, said in a press statement, "The differences found between red and white wine were opposed to our original hypothesis that the beneficial effects of wine are mediated predominantly by the alcohol."So, how much can people with type 2 diabetes sip at dinner without going over the top? "One to two glasses of red wine for men and up to one glass of red wine for women, daily, at dinner," was the amount indicated by the study, Dr. Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, told CBS News.Sood said researchers have known for some time that moderate amounts of alcohol are acceptable for diabetics, but the jury was out on which kind of alcohol might offer the most benefit. Sood said of red wine's health-enhancing ingredients: "It's the non-ethanol components of the wine, which are present more so in red wine.

It's the phenols, it's the resveratrol, it's the tannins. They all work together with the ethanol possibly to result in these positive changes."While the study shows benefits, Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, said, "I worry about the subset of my type 2 diabetes patients who drink too much, and that this may give them more ammunition to say alcohol is good for diabetes. best french wine townsOver-drinking can poison the pancreas. best seafood restaurant wine listIn these patients, when they stop drinking, their diabetes gets tremendously better."buy fair trade wineSpratt also told CBS News that in the South, where she lives, many people abstain from drinking for religious reasons. buy wine after 9 wisconsin

She said, "Here in the South, it would not be something I would generally recommend. I would not say, 'Now you should start drinking wine.' I wouldn't tell someone to start drinking, but if I knew a type 2 diabetes patient was a moderate drinker, I would tell them it looks like red wine is the best choice out of all alcohols to drink, rather than white wine, beer, or hard liquor."the best tasting wine coolersSpratt also noted that the study did not look at cardiovascular outcomes such as heart attack and stroke. best two zone wine cooler reviewsFor 51-year-old Garret Rubin, who said he has to watch out for everything -- fats, salt, sugar -- in his diet since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the study is a positive note.Rubin said diet, exercise and medication will remain his first line of defense, but he told CBS News, "Now, since I have a choice, I think red wine might be the thing."

Editor's note: In an earlier version of this article, Dr. Sood said red wine decreased development of heart disease, but that was not found in the study. The research only looked at risk factors like cholesterol levels, not whether patients actually developed heart disease.Drinking a glass of red wine every night may help people with diabetes to manage their cholesterol and protect their hearts, a new study has found.In a trial of more than 220 type 2 diabetes patients assigned a standard Mediterranean diet, those who were also allowed one 150ml glass of red with dinner ended up with higher levels of so-called ‘good cholesterol’ than those who drank white wine or mineral water.People with diabetes are more vulnerable to developing heart disease than the general population.They often have low levels of good cholesterol, or HDL, which helps remove ‘bad cholesterol’, or LDL, and is thought to protect improve heart health, possibly protecting against heart attacks and strokes. In the study, which was carried out over the course of two years, people who drank red wine saw “modest” increases in HDL.

Those who drank either wine and were genetically predisposed to metabolise alcohol well also had better blood sugar control.The Israeli researchers behind the study said that genetic profiling could be used to identify type 2 diabetes patients who might benefit from moderate wine-drinking.Research into the health benefits – or lack thereof – of red wine remains controversial territory.Numerous studies in recent years have linked moderate consumption with lower levels of bad cholesterol and better heart health, and it has even been suggested as an explanation for the so-called ‘French paradox’ – the fact the country has low heart disease rates, despite rich diets heavy in cheese and red meat.It is thought that the effect may be caused by an, as yet unidentified, ingredient of red wine – a theory backed up by the latest findings, which found red wine was, overall, more beneficial than white.However, research into the chemical resveratrol – believed by some to be the mystery ingredient – concluded last year that mortality rates were no lower in those who consumed more of it.

Doctors have also emphasised that drinking any more than moderate amounts of red wine – more than a small glass or two a day – is still considered very bad for health, particularly raising the risk of heart disease and some cancers.The findings from the new diabetes study, carried out by researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, alongside experts from Harvard School of Public Health and Leipzig University,  are being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Prague this week.The authors, led by Professor Iris Shai, said: “This first long-term large scale alcohol trial suggests that ini¬tiating moderate wine intake, especially red-wine, among well-controlled type 2 diabetes patients, and as part of healthy diet, is apparently safe and decreases car¬diometabolic risk.While the genetic interaction supports specific causal roles for [alcohol], the red-wine's superiority suggests that non-alcoholic constituents of red wine could be having a positive impact.”