Coffee May Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
A large study from Harvard University looked at the coffee habits of more than 100,000 people for about 20 years.Researchers found that people who increased their coffee intake by one cup more per day experienced an 11 percent lower risk of eventually getting Type 2 diabetes.
People who reduced their coffee intake by one cup per day, on the other hand, saw their risk of developing diabetes increase by 17 percent.
“These changes in risk were observed for caffeinated, but not decaffeinated coffee, and were independent of initial coffee consumption and four-year changes [during the study period] in other dietary and lifestyle factors,” the study authors wrote.
“In our analysis of 94 studies with 105 independent groups (984 participants), CAF [caffeine] ingestion significantly increased fat metabolism,” the study authors wrote.
Coffee Slashes Type 2 Risk for Women with Gestational Diabetes
Compared with the general, healthy female population, women who have experienced gestational diabetes may have a 10-fold increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Drinking coffee may lower this risk, according to scientists at the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health at the National University of Singapore.Women who drank two to three cups of coffee decreased their risk by 17 percent, and those who drank one cup or less experienced a 10 percent reduced risk, the study found.
Decaffeinated coffee didn’t have similar benefits, but the study noted that relatively few women preferred it, which could be why no link was detected.
Reduces Risk of Common Diabetes Complications
Type 2 diabetes can increase our risk of eye problems and cardiovascular and kidney disease.They looked at 3,805 patients with an average age of 64 years (2,112 men, 1,693 women) with Type 2 diabetes and found higher coffee consumption reduced the risk of declining kidney function. Compared with no coffee consumption, those drinking two or more cups per day saw greater risk reduction.
Researchers analyzed data from 1,350 participants with Type 2 diabetes who underwent diabetic retinopathy examination to find that those who drank two or more cups of coffee per day had lower odds of developing the condition compared to those who didn’t drink any coffee.
Coffee Reduces Risk of Liver Disease in People with Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes can significantly increase the risk of liver disease, particularly nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Often, NAFLD is a “silent” condition, with few or no symptoms. Composed of different disorders of the liver caused by the accumulation of fat, it can cause liver scarring and cancer.
Researchers surveyed 156 overweight, middle-aged participants, of which 98 had Type 2 diabetes, about how much coffee they drank. They also collected daily urine samples that were used to measure caffeine and noncaffeine metabolites, which are natural byproducts resulting from the digestion of coffee.
Findings show that those with higher coffee caffeine consumption, as indicated by urine samples, were much less likely to experience liver disease.