Coffee Addicts Less at Risk From Diabetes

[Guest guest]

Coffee Addicts Less at Risk From Diabetes

AFP

Nov. 8 - People who drink lots of coffee run a far lower risk of

developing Type 2 diabetes, the disorder that has reached epidemic

proportions in the industrialised world, a study says.

Individuals who drink seven or more cups of coffee a day are 50

percent less likely to develop this form of diabetes than counterparts

who drink two cups or less.

The evidence comes from a database of the health and lifestyle of

17,000 Dutch men and women, assessed by the Netherlands' National

Institute for Public Health and Environment.

Factors such as smoking, ratio of body fat and alcoholic consumption

were taken into account, in order to make a fair comparison of health

among coffee drinkers.

The authors, who report their work in next Saturday's issue of the

British medical weekly The Lancet, say the findings have " important

public-health implications " given the spiralling costs of treating

people with diabetes.

They urge caution, however, for people tempted to seize upon

coffee as a miraculous shield against this health problem.

" Possible adverse effect on other health aspects should be

considered in the choice to consume coffee. "

Diabetes afflicts more than 17 million people in the United States

and more than 150 million worldwide.

The disorder is characterized by a chronic, toxic excess of sugar

in the blood caused by a lack of insulin, a hormone secreted by the

pancreas. It can cause blindness, kidney failure and even death.

Type 1 diabetes develops most often in children and young adults,

but the disorder can appear at any age.

Type 2, or " adult " diabetes, traditionally affects people over 55

and apparently develops as a consequence of obesity or weight gain, and

is now being detected among children. It accounts for 90 percent of US

diabetes cases.

The researchers note that caffeine is known to reduce the body's

sensitivity to insulin, a phenomenon that should in fact worsen the

diabetes problem.

However, coffee also has lots of chlorogenic acid and magnesium,

which they speculate more than offset the effect of caffeine.

Chlorogenic acid, a substance called a phenol which plays a big

role in coffee's bouquet of flavour, has been found in lab tests to

reduce absorption of glucose by the liver. Magnesium may improve

sensitivity to insulin, they suggest.

The database covered 17,111 people aged 30-60. More than 4,200

drank seven or more cups of coffee per day while 2,792 were at the other

end of the range, drinking two cups or less.

http://health.discovery.com/news/afp/20021104/coffee1108.html