Decaf coffee fights diabetes

27jun06

A new, 11-year study has found yet another potential benefit for coffee.

Researchers say women who drank six or more cups of decaffeinated coffee a day were 33 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

The study, which followed other research this month showing that coffee my help prevent cirrhosis, was published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

It looked at diabetes risk among nearly 29,000 women in Iowa who were followed from 1986 to 1997.

The women were being tracked for a larger project on cancer.

Epidemiologist Mark Pereira and his colleagues used questionnaires on the women’s eating and drinking habits to look for an association between coffee consumption and diabetes.

At first glance, Pereira said the data indicated that drinking six or more cups of any coffee – decaf or regular – was linked to a 22 per cent reduction in diabetes risk.

But when researchers teased out the caffeinated-versus-decaffeinated drinkers, they found that the benefit was strong only among the women who drank six or more cups of decaf.

And in that case, the risk reduction was even higher, at 33 per cent.

Pereira said coffee might play a role in how the body regulates sugar.

In type 2 diabetes, patients no longer break down sugar properly.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants, which may protect the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin – the hormone that regulates sugar.

In type 2 diabetes, patients either don’t make enough insulin to keep sugar levels under control or their insulin is ineffective.

Antioxidants are found in fruits, vegetables and other foods, but Pereira said many people are not eating the recommended servings of these every day.

– KRT