Drinking coffee may ward off diabetes

Drinking three to four cups of coffee daily may decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25 per cent, a new report has claimed.

The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) has published an updated report outlining the latest research on coffee and type 2 diabetes to mark the World Diabetes Day today.

Epidemiological evidence shows that drinking three to four cups of coffee per day is associated with an approximate 25 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to consuming none or less than two cups per day, the report said.

Research has also suggested an inverse dose response, with each additional cup of coffee reducing the relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 7 to 8 per cent.

Caffeine is unlikely to be responsible for the protective effects of coffee, as one study suggested that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, the report said.

Recent work showed an advantage of filtered coffee over boiled, decaffeinated coffee over caffeinated coffee and a stronger inverse correlation in those under 60 years age group.

The report also puts forward some of the key mechanistic theories that underlie the possible relationship between coffee consumption and the reduced risk of diabetes.

These includes the 'Energy Expenditure Hypothesis', which suggests that the caffeine in coffee stimulates metabolism and increases energy expenditure and the 'Carbohydrate Metabolic Hypothesis', whereby it is thought that coffee components play a key role by influencing the glucose balance within the body.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3.4 million people die of diabetes every year, and diabetes deaths are projected to increase by two thirds until 2030.