Can drinking coffee lower diabetes, heart disease risk?
Can drinking coffee lower diabetes, heart disease risk?
In a nutshell:
According to a study published in September in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, consuming coffee and caffeine in moderation on a regular basis could help prevent conditions like type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke. The amount the researchers found that had the most protective effects was around 200–300 mg daily, or roughly 2-3 cups of coffee.
Key takeaways:
- The researchers compared people who did not consume any caffeine or who drank less than 100 milligrams (mg) per day with people who drank about 200 to 300 mg of caffeine a day, or the equivalent of three coffee drinks.
- The latter group, who consumed a moderate amount of caffeine, had a 48.1% or 40.7% reduced risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases.
- The study used data from the UK Biobank with a large sample size of over 360,000 people ages 37–73.
- Melanie Murphy Richter, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist who was not involved in the research, explained that the mechanism through which caffeine may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes is by enhancing insulin sensitivity, as well as boosting fat metabolism to support overall cardiometabolic health.
- Experts such as Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist who was not involved in the study, cautioned as to overestimating caffeine’s benefits and said:
“[B]oth coffee and tea are complex beverages that contain hundreds of bioactive compounds, and it is likely that their biological effects extend beyond those of the caffeine itself. Compounds such as flavonoids, alkaloids, and polyphenols, are thought to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and might be involved in glucose and lipid metabolism as well.”
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