Sip extra coffee to cut down diabetes risk

Love coffee? You have a fresh reason to go for another cup as increasing daily coffee consumption may significantly reduce type 2 diabetes risk.

According to a promising research led by an Indian-American researcher, people who increased the amount of coffee each day by more than one cup over a four-year period had a 11 percent lower risk for type 2 diabetes than those who made no changes to their coffee consumption.

Alternatively, those who decreased their coffee consumption by more than a cup per day increased their type 2 diabetes risk by 17 percent, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) noted.

"Our findings confirm those of previous studies that showed that higher coffee consumption was associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk," said Shilpa Bhupathiraju, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at HSPH.

Most importantly, they provide new evidence that changes in coffee consumption habit can affect type 2 diabetes risk in a relatively short period of time, Bhupathiraju added.

The researchers evaluated participants' diets every four years with a questionnaire, and those who self-reported type 2 diabetes filled out additional questionnaires.

A total of 7,269 cases of type 2 diabetes were documented.

Results showed that participants who increased their coffee consumption by more than one cup per day over a four-year period had a 11 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes in the subsequent four years compared to those who made no changes in consumption.

Those who lowered their daily coffee consumption by more than one cup had a 17 percent higher risk for diabetes.

Changes in decaffeinated coffee consumption and caffeinated tea consumption were not associated with changes in risk for type 2 diabetes.

"Coffee is only one of many factors that influence diabetes risk. More importantly, individuals should watch their weight and be physically active," explained Frank Hu, senior author and professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH.

The study appeared in the journal Diabetologia.