Drinking six cups of coffee a day may seem extreme to some, but it could cut the risk of getting diabetes. For those worried about caffeine intake, decaf may work just as well.
Studies have found that a combination of chemicals in coffee beans may affect metabolism — the chemical processes in the body that converts or uses energy. One chemical, cholorogenic acid, may lower blood sugar levels. Caffeine, however, might not make a difference.
Researchers recently discovered that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees are tied to reducing diabetes risk, and the more people drink, the lower their risk appears to be.
Frank Hu, MD, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, and his team conducted detailed analysis of 28 studies, representing 1.1 million total participants and 45,335 cases of type 2 diabetes. Patients were followed for durations of 10 months to 20 years.
Compared to those who rarely or never drank coffee, coffee drinkers had a lower diabetes risk, which was inversely related to how much they drank.
The study was published in the February 2014 issue of Diabetes Care. Funding was provided by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.