Coffee linked to diabetes prevention: ISIC

The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) released a report highlighting the links between coffee consumption and the development of type 2 diabetes.  The report follows a session sponsored by ISIC, an industry-funded organisation, at the seventh World Congress of Diabetes Prevention and Its Complications last November. The session, entitled 'Good things in life: Can coffee help in diabetes prevention', hosted six health experts reviewing the relevant research.  “Coffee consumption has often been linked to poorer health habits, such as smoking and physical inactivity, but, in prospective studies, it has also been associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Pilar Riobo Servan, Associate Chief of Endocrinology and Nutrition at Jimenez Diaz-Capio Hospital in Madrid, in the report. “The association between coffee consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes is of considerable relevance because coffee is a widely consumed beverage worldwide and any effect on health that it may cause will have public health consequences. Coffee consumption and the decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes has been extensively studied in recent years and a growing body of evidence suggests that we may need to change our perception of the health effects of this beverage.” The report points to epidemiological evidence that shows drinking three to four cups of coffee per day is association with approximately 25 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to consuming none or less than 2 cups per day.  In a study of 17,111 adults between 30 and 60 years old, one early study published ten years ago found that over the follow up period, 360 new cases of type 2 diabetes were identified. After adjusting for potential cofounders, individuals who drank at least seven cups of coffee a day were half as like to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank two cups or fewer.  Research found that coffee consumption is associated with lower C-peptide, a byproduct created when insulin is produced, especially in overweight or obese people. It was also associated with higher levels of adiponectin, a protein involved in regulating glucose levels as well as fatty acid breakdown.  “Studies have also found that drinking coffee does not increase cancer risk in diabetic population, nor does it not cause cardiovascular disease, hypertension or stroke,” said Dr. Servan in the report. “Although more research is needed to make firm conclusions, the findings suggest that coffee can be safely enjoyed by the healthy and as well as by the diabetic population and might even be helpful in diabetes prevention.”