Drinking coffee helps reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Yet another confirmation of the healthy effects of Italians’ most beloved beverage emerges from the meta-analysis conducted by ISIC, Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, and presented on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, celebrated on November 13, 2013.
Drinking coffee, but how much?
According to the report, habitual consumption of three to four cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25 percent, compared with an intake of less than two cups or nothing at all. The benefit-more pronounced for women-is associated with natural components other than caffeine, to the extent that the protective effect emerges to a greater extent among decaffeinated coffee drinkers.
Two theories
On the mechanisms underlying the relationship between coffee consumption and diabetes risk reduction, the Institute reports the existence of two theories in the literature. One looks at metabolic stimulation and consequent increase in energy expenditure, the other focuses on balancing the glucose produced by coffee.
