Type 2 Diabetes is a scary disease that is becoming more and more prevalent in the U.S.
Diet and exercise are an important part of lowering your risk, but recent research suggests coffee prevents diabetes. Check out the 3 ways coffee prevents diabetes below.
1. Coffee Prevents Diabetes By Reducing Glucose and Insulin Levels
Lots of studies and statistics show that Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise. Unfortunately this can lead to two to four times the risk to develop cardiovascular disease.1 Diet and exercise are an important part of lowering your risk, but drinking coffee can also be a big prevention tool, too.
A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine found, Drinking 3-4 cups of coffee per day was associated with an approximate 25% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to consuming none or less than 2 cups per day.2
What is it about coffee that reduces your risk for diabetes? What you might not know is coffee is actually a great source of antioxidants — chlorogenic acid, and trigonelline to name a couple. These antioxidants work together to regulate your glucose and insulin levels which in turn helps to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Another study from 2002 found that coffee drinkers consuming at least 7 cups of coffee per day were half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes.3 The interesting thing about this study is when you compare it against recommended levels of caffeine consumption this is far higher than what is recommended to prevent overcaffeination. One way to have your coffee and drink it too so to speak is to only drink arabica, shade-grown coffee. Arabica beans contain half the caffeine content of other coffees. This enables you to drink more coffee without getting the jitters of overcaffeination. While shade grown coffee contains less acidity, because it grows slower. This slow-grow process develops a smoother more flavorful cup without bitterness.
2. Coffee Prevents Diabetes By Reducing Oxidative stress and Increasing Cell signaling
Another cause of type 2 diabetes is oxidative stress — something the antioxidants in coffee reduce.4
But, what exactly is oxidative stress? Oxidative stress causes issues with how your cells respond to insulin. Its this incorrect response to insulin that creates an environment where Type 2 diabetes is more likely to develop.5 Antioxidants in coffee prevents diabetes by preventing one of the main mechanisms of type 2 diabetes — oxidative stress.
3. Coffee Prevents Diabetes By Increasing Liver Function
Your liver function is directly related to your risk of diabetes. How? Well, a good, healthy liver should be regulating the glucose in your bloodstream. Some studies are showing coffee may help your liver function and therefore your glucose management.
Harvard researchers found improvements in adipocyte and liver function as indicated by changes in adiponectin and fetuin-A concentrations when drinking 5 or more cups of coffee per day.6
A healthy liver is something you want to have for a wide array of medical reasons, but since it also reduces risk of Type 2 Diabetes, why wouldnt you make sure and take good care of it?
There are many choices in lifestyle and diet that you can make to reduce your risk of diabetes. But coffee is tasty, easy and an excellent addition to any prevention measures you are already using. Coffee prevents diabetes and it tastes delicious so make sure to drink the best coffee you can. Thats why her at Camano Island Coffee Roasters we only roast USDA Certified Organic coffee beans and ship within 48 hours to give you the freshest taste possible.
2.Crippa A. et al. (2014) Coffee consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 180(8):763-75(Found in coffeeandhealth.org)
3.van Dijk A.E. et al. (2009) Acute effects of decaffeinated coffee and the major coffee components chlorogenic acid and trigonelline on glucose tolerance. Diabetes Care, 32:1023-1025.(As found in coffeeandhealth.org)
4. http://coffeeandhealth.org/topic-overview/potential-mechanisms-3/
5 Koloverou E. et al. (2015) The evaluation of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers on coffee-diabetes association: results from the 10 year follow up of the ATTICA Study (2002-2012). EJCN, 69(11):1220-1225(as cited in http://coffeeandhealth.org/topic-overview/potential-mechanisms-3/)
6. N M Wedick et al, 2011. Effects of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee on biological risk factors for type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. Nutrition Journal, 2011, Volume 10, published online ahead of print. (As found in coffeeandhealth.org)