Coffee May Reduce Diabetes Risk

Whereas previous studies have suggested that coffee consumption may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, to-date the underlying mechanism of this effect has been unclear.  Nicole Wedick, from Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues enrolled 45 healthy, overweight coffee drinking 40-year-olds to participate in an eight week long study. Each subject drank 5 cups of coffee per day each (instant caffeinated or decaffeinated), or water. The researchers observed that caffeinated coffee consumption reduced levels of interleukin -6 (IL6), a marker of inflammation, by 60%. As well, adiponectin, a hormone released from fat cells that is involved in the regulation of insulin sensitivity, decreased in the caffeinated coffee group (but not the decaffeinated group). The team concludes that: " after 8 weeks of coffee consumption, improvements in adipocyte and liver function as indicated by changes in adiponectin and fetuin-A concentrations may contribute to beneficial metabolic effects of long-term coffee consumption.”