Coffee Drinkers At Lower Risk Of Diabetes

Wed, 18 Jan 2012

A new study has added further weight behind scientists’ claims that drinking coffee can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

A research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found three compounds contained in the beverage can block the toxic build-up of a protein, which is known to trigger the metabolic condition.

The coffee extracts - caffeine, caffeic acid, and chlorogenic acid - were also shown to prevent the body’s insulin-producing beta cells from being destroyed.

"We found three major coffee compounds can reverse this toxic process and may explain why coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes," lead researcher Kun Huang, from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said.

He added that decaffeinated coffee could be more beneficial than regular options as caffeine was found to be the least effective of the three.

"In decaffeinated coffee, the percentage contents of caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid are even higher [than in regular coffee], whereas the level of caffeine is greatly reduced," Huang commented.

"We expect that decaffeinated coffee has at least equal or even higher beneficial effect compared to the regular caffeinated types."

Previous studies have suggested that people who drink four or more cups of coffee a day are 50 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes .

Researchers now plan on conducting further studies to gain a better understanding of the link between coffee consumption and reduced diabetes risk .

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