Coffee linked with lower diabetes risk

Study findings provide more evidence that drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages may protect against the development of type 2 diabetes. Investigators, however, warn that it is premature to recommend increased coffee consumption with this in mind. The new findings stem from data on more than 42,000 men and 84,000 women in the Health Professionals' Follow-up Study and Nurses' Health Study who reported on their caffeinated beverage consumption every 2 to 4 years over a period of 12 to 18 years. Researchers from Harvard University in Boston documented 1,333 new cases of type 2 diabetes in men and 4,085 in women.In analyses that accounted for factors such as age, weight, cigarette smoking, and other dietary and lifestyle factors, a statistically significant inverse relationship emerged between drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages and the risk of diabetes in both men and women. They found that the risk of diabetes was 7, 29 and 54 percent lower, respectively, in men who reported drinking one to three, four to five, or six or more cups of caffeinated coffee per day. The corresponding risk in women was 1, 30, and 29 percent, respectively. No such link was found for decaffeinated coffee consumption.

That study set off a major controversy among researchers because it is known that caffeine adversely affects (sugar) metabolism in short-term studies. Researchers emphasised that while caffeine is a main ingredient of coffee, coffee has many other substances and compounds, such as magnesium and antioxidants, which may be beneficial for sugar metabolism and diabetes risk. More studies are needed to examine the effects of these compounds in coffee. .