11/02/2011

Coffee Picks You Up AND May Reduce the Risk of Diabetes

A recent trial with humans conducted at Harvard University found that caffeinated coffee may reduce the risk of developing diabetes.

A recent trial with humans conducted at Harvard University found that caffeinated coffee may reduce the risk of developing diabetes.

Participants were given five cups of a coffee per day for 60 days. Findings published in the Nutrition Journal showed significant metabolic benefits and liver function. Results of this study add to the increasing body of science that supports the possible benefits of coffee.

Generating over $70bn a year in retail sales, coffee has increasingly become of interest in the research world. Conducted by Nicole Wedick, ScD from the Harvard School of Public Health, this study specifically found that the benefits were associated with caffeinated coffee, further supporting the hypothesis that caffeine itself may be responsible for the associated health benefits.
The randomized study involved 45 healthy, overweight, 40-year old coffee drinkers who were asked to drink five cups of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee or water, per day for two months. Results showed a 60% reduction of a compound called interleukin-6 in blood levels for those participants who drank the caffeinated coffee as compared to the water group. This compound is known to promote inflammation. Adiponectin, a hormone that plays a role in regulating insulin sensitivity, was also reduced for participants that drank caffeinated coffee, indicating that caffeine may have anti-diabetic properties.

Researchers wrote, “Our findings suggest that improvements in adipocyte and liver function…may contribute to beneficial metabolic effects of long-term coffee consumption. Given the popularity and widespread consumption of coffee, the effects of coffee and coffee components on metabolic risk factors warrant further investigation.”

Research has continued to support the health benefits of coffee and its effect on the risk of diabetes. A meta-analysis conducted in 2009 and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that including three to four cups of coffee each day may reduce the risk of diabetes by 25 percent.

Compounds within the beverage that may be contributing to these benefits are magnesium, antioxidant lignans or chlorogenic acids. Additionally, a report by Mario Ferruzzi from Purdue University and published in Physiology and Behavior (doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.01.035) revealed that coffee is also a rich source of polyphenols, with 350 milligrams of phenolics found in each cup of coffee.

Source: Supplement Manufacturer

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