Go ahead, have another cup of coffee. While satisfying your java jones, you could also be reducing your risk for diabetes. An analysis of 18 previously published studies totaling 457,932 participants found that drinking three or four cups of regular coffee per day was associated with about a 25% lower risk of developing diabetes, compared to drinking two cups or less. Each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day was associated with a 7% reduction in the excess risk of diabetes.The analysis by Rachel Huxley, DPhil, of the George Institute at the University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues included six studies that also looked at decaf coffee. Pooling that data, people drinking three to four cups of decaf were about one-third less likely to develop diabetes than those drinking none.Seven studies included tea consumption. Those who drank more than three to four cups of tea daily had a 20% lower risk of diabetes than non-tea drinkers.The decaf data suggest that any possible benefit is unlikely to be solely related to caffeine. Other compounds in coffee and tea-including magnesium, antioxidants known as lignans, or chlorogenic acids-may be involved, according to Huxley and colleagues.If confirmed by intervention trials, researchers added, the findings could have important implications. For example, the identification of the active components of these beverages would open up new therapeutic pathways for the primary prevention of diabetes. It could also be envisaged that we will advise our patients most at risk for diabetes to increase their consumption of tea and coffee in addition to increasing their levels of physical activity and weight loss.TO LEARN MORE: Archives of Internal Medicine, Dec. 14/28, 2009; abstract at archinte.ama-assn.org/ cgi/content/short/169/22/2053?home
