Thursday March 24, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study conducted in Korea suggests that drinking black coffee three times a day can help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in individuals who have pre-diabetes.
The study analyzed data from 3,497 patients with pre-diabetes who had glycated hemoglobin levels at 5.7% to 6.4% and were followed for up to four years and found the risk for diabetic progression was lowest in those who drank black coffee three times a day.
Diabetes mellitus patients who drank coffee with cream and sugar added were also lower than those who did not drink coffee even though the "preventative" effect of the mixed coffee was less significant than those of black coffee.
Ji-Ho Lee, Mi-Kyeong Oh, Jun-Tae Lim, Haa-Gyoung Kim and Won-Joon Lee, Effect of Coffee Consumption on the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Prediabetic Individuals, Korean J Fam Med. 2016 Jan;37(1):7-13. English. Published online Jan 27, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.2016.37.1.7
A similar study reported in 2002 in the Lancet also found men and women who drank seven cups of coffee a day were 50% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus, compared with those who drank only two or fewer cups a day.
The Dutch study involved 17,111 men and women aged 30 to 60 years who were followed for an average of seven years. The risk reduction was derived after adjustment for other risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Coffee consumption was substantially associated with lower risk for clinical type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Interestingly, caffeine in coffee has been found in previous studies to reduce the sensitivity to insulin. All the studies suggesting coffee may prevent diabetes mellitus are not trials and a causal relation has not been established, which means that it is actually not clear yet whether drinking coffee could actually lower risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
An estimated 25 million Americans suffer diabetes mellitus. The disease in many cases can be prevented by following a healthy eating habit. High intake of saturated fat, trans fat and sugar can increase risk for the disease. Good news is that many preventatives are available to prevent the disease. (David Liu)
Rob M van Dam, MS, Edith JM Feskens, PhD, Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, The Lancet, Volume 360, No. 9344, p1477–1478, 9 November 2002
