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Ethanol use could help prevent type 2 diabetes

Ethanol use could help prevent type 2 diabetes

March 28th, 2019

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that Americans are all too familiar with. According to the American Diabetes Association, 29 million people had type 2 diabetes in 2015, roughly 9% of the population. Sadly, diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S.


Fortunately, type 2 diabetes is a preventable disease and very manageable if you actively work towards your health. Risk factors include overweight/obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, family history, ethnicity and age. Along with those, it appears that researchers are finding another risk factor-air pollution.


A study published in 2018 discovered that one type of air pollution was responsible for approximately 14% of diabetes cases in 2016-that’s 150,000 people in one year! You may be wondering how air pollution could cause type 2 diabetes. Well, it has to do with a specific type of air pollution the researchers studied, called fine particulate matter or PM2.5. This pollutant contains extremely small particles of liquid, dirt, dust, pollen, ashes and soot that are inhaled deep into the lungs and get absorbed into the bloodstream. PM2.5 has been proven to cause wheezing, coughing and respiratory irritation, and is particularly harmful to people with asthma and COPD. What this study discovered is that PM2.5 can reach different organs throughout the body and cause inflammation, similar to what it does in the lungs. Over time, this inflammation causes insulin resistance. If insulin resistance becomes severe enough, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin to keep up with rising blood glucose. This results in type 2 diabetes.

Ethanol can lower your risk

The good news is that we can decrease the amount of PM2.5 we create just by using ethanol! Adding ethanol to gasoline reduces emissions of pollutants such as carbon monoxide, known cancer-causing chemicals like benzene, and fine particulate matter. According to the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, PM2.5 emissions from regular gasoline (E0) are three times higher than E10. Fortunately, PM2.5 emissions have decreased by 34% nationwide between 2000 and 2013 due to ethanol usage and more fuel-efficient cars.


So the next time you are filling up with 88 Octane or E85 at one of the 300+ stations throughout the state, know that you are doing the environment and your body a favor.