A Cup of Diabetes Prevention

According to a recent analysis of previous studies reported in December 2009 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, drinking tea or regular or decaffeinated coffee can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Rachel Huxley, DPhil, of the George Institute for International  Health at the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues analyzed 18 studies published between 1966 and 2009 involving nearly 500,000 participants and exploring the link between coffee consumption and diabetes prevention. Further, six studies concerning decaffeinated coffee and seven studies on tea consumption, each involving more than 250,000 participants, were also analyzed.

The analysis revealed that those who drank three to four cups of coffee daily had about a 25% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who drank two or fewer cups per day. In the studies on decaf coffee, those who drank more than three or four cups per day had a one third lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than did those who consumed no decaf coffee. And in the tea analyses, those who drank more than three or four cups had a one fifth lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than did those who consumed no tea.

Noting the benefit of decaffeinated coffee, the researchers indicated caffeine is not likely to be the sole ingredient conferring a benefit. Other compounds in tea and coffee, they explain, such as magnesium and antioxidants known as lignans or chlorogenic acids, may be responsible.