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Enjoy Your Coffee! U Says 6 Cups Daily Cuts Diabetes Risk: New Study Adds to Mounting Evidence of Java's Benefits

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Jeremy Olson, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Jun. 27--Drinking six cups of coffee per day can lower the risk of type II diabetes, even among people who are obese or don't exercise, according to a University of Minnesota study released Monday.

While the research focused on postmenopausal women, the results likely apply to men as well, said lead author Mark Pereira, an assistant professor in the university's School of Public Health.

Women who drank six or more cups of coffee per day reduced their risk by 33 percent. Results were virtually the same whether the women drank regular coffee or decaf.

The study does not imply that coffee is a substitute for good diet and exercise, or that nondrinkers should start, but the popular beverage can be part of an overall diabetes prevention strategy, Pereira said.

"It may be necessary to rethink the idea that drinking coffee does more harm than good," he said.

Type II diabetes afflicts 18 million to 20 million Americans. The chronic disease results when the body becomes resistant to insulin or produces too little of the hormone, which converts sugar into energy. While a variety of medications can manage the disease, uncontrolled diabetes can lead to blindness, stroke, kidney failure, limb amputation and nerve damage.

Reaction among patrons of downtown St. Paul coffeehouses ranged from enthusiastic to indifferent.

"If you believe all of this stuff you read in the paper, it'll drive you crazy," said James Viner, 63, who drinks six to 10 cups a day. He recalled one study saying coffee was good for his heart, and then another saying it was bad.

Bonnie Paddack, 52, of Austin, Minn., glanced at her tall house blend with renewed vigor.

"Diabetes runs in my family," she said. "I should drink my coffee."

The university's finding is the latest in a string for coffee-related research. This month, researchers reported drinking four cups of coffee a day cut the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 80 percent. Studies in April and May found fewer cardiac deaths among people who drank three to six cups a day, defying previous studies that found elevated cardiac risks among coffee drinkers. A December study found coffee drinkers had less risk of liver failure.

The Minnesota study, published in the latest Archives of Internal Medicine, was created by reviewing the health records of 28,812 postmenopausal women who participated in the Iowa Women's Health Study from 1986 to 1997. The National Cancer Institute funded the research.

At least 10 other studies worldwide have examined coffee's relationship to diabetes, and seven reported fewer cases among coffee drinkers. The U's findings suggested caffeine played no role, which contradicts other research that has suggested caffeine is what makes coffee protective against diabetes.

"It could potentially have broader public health utility if it's not the caffeine," which is a stimulant associated with some negative health effects, Pereira said.

The U study didn't identify what made coffee protective against diabetes. However, Pereira said the antioxidants in coffee might protect the insulin-producing beta cells, or preserve the body's insulin sensitivity. Other minerals in coffee may reduce the amount of insulin that is absorbed in the intestines, which would also encourage healthy blood sugar levels.

The findings are not surefire, because they relied on women in the Iowa study who self-reported their diet, exercise, coffee consumption and diabetes status. Its results are bolstered by existing research that produced similar findings, though.

Pereira said the next step should be a controlled clinical trial comparing diabetes risks among coffee drinkers and nondrinkers.

Jeremy Olson can be reached at jolson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5583.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

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Source: Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)

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