Does drinking coffee lower your risk of diabetes?

Most of us don’t need an excuse to drink more coffee, but if you want to justify those couple of cups a day then you certainly can by looking through some of the science behind the benefits of coffee.

There are actually a number of positive health impacts of drinking coffee. While the media like to latch onto stories about the fact we should be cutting down on caffeine, there are studies to show that the contents of your favourite coffee beans are actually doing your body a lot of good. Studies have shown a number of positive results: a big one being that coffee helps lower the risk of diabetes.

Although coffee has been consumed for hundreds of years, science has been playing catchup when it comes to understanding all of the benefits. We know it gives us an energy boost, but now we’re understanding more aspects of coffee and some of its impressive benefits.

So, is coffee good for us?

The contents of coffee beans are generally good for us. Coffee doesn’t have any unwanted fat in it (unless you have it with cream or full-fat milk), and when consumed in moderation, it can be a brilliant addition to our diet. Coffee is full of both antioxidants and chemicals. While “chemicals” sounds a little bit intimidating, these tend to be good for us in this instance. Caffeine is a chemical, as are the polyphenols within coffee that have antioxidant properties. They help to prevent a lot of different diseases including cancer, and have been strongly linked with reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. You don’t have to get antioxidants from coffee, of course, but they are a wonderful source.

Coffee also has magnesium in it, which has been linked in some studies to a reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the levels of magnesium aren’t very high, so it isn’t necessarily the best source compared to some other magnesium-rich foods.

Drinking coffee to lower your diabetes risk: Studies

Coffee beans have been studied a lot in recent years, with a reduction in diabetes risk being just one of the fantastic benefits that has been suggested.

One of the studies actually tracked 100,000 people over the course of 20 years, and Harvard researchers found that those with higher consumption of caffeine had around an 11 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes in their life. It isn’t totally clear though, as some who increased their coffee consumption seemed to increase their risk of diabetes.

Tea drinkers, and those consuming other types of caffeine, weren’t necessarily met with the same benefits, so it is possible that caffeine isn’t playing the biggest role in reducing diabetes risks.

Caffeine, Glucose and Insulin: What’s the connection?

Caffeine and coffee definitely seem to have an impact on glucose and insulin levels.

A study in 2004 looked at people who were taking a caffeine capsule and actually showed an increase in insulin resistance after a meal. Other studies have also looked into the fact that there is bound to be a genetic impact, and some people may react differently. Tolerance, built up over years or decades of drinking caffeine, may also play a part.

Conclusion

There are, of course, some other considerations here. For instance, the impact could be a sort of “knock on” effect. You may be experiencing an improvement in athletic performance as a result of your increased caffeine consumption. It has been shown to help people to perform in an athletic sense and to perform more exercise. Of course, in turn, it is possible that your exercise will be what is impacting your diabetes risk.

A lot of people consume coffee as a part of their daily routine. It is possible that you might want to experiment and track your coffee consumption, and its impact on your blood sugars.

If you haven’t got diabetes, the largest study available from Harvard University suggests that you have a lower chance of developing it if you drink coffee regularly. So, this means that you can incorporate it into your daily habits. If you have any concerns, you can discuss this with your physician.

On top of this, in recent years we have started to see the numerous benefits of coffee and its antioxidants. It can reduce the chances of developing diabetes, but also a number of other illnesses and ailments. As long as you keep the coffee consumption to a sensible level and track your reaction to caffeine and coffee, it is almost certain that the effect will be positive.