New study finds coffee can lower diabetes risk

Wed, 18 Jan 2012
Scientists in China have found that drinking coffee can help to prevent type 2 diabetes. This study helped to confirm why other studies had also found this to be the case, by showing which compounds present in coffee were significantly inhibiting the accumulation of a substance involved in the disease process.

The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, examined the effects of regular coffee consumption and its active components on something called human islet amyloid polypeptide (hlAPP). They assessed the active components of coffee: caffeine, caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid (CGA), as well as dihydrocaffeic acid, a metabolite of CGA and caffeine, on hlAPP. Some researchers claim that it is the misfolding of hlAPP that can result in some people suffer from type 2 diabetes.

It was revealed that all the components had an effect on hlAPP, but that caffeic acid and CGA were able to substantially suppress the formation of hlAPP oligomers.

The findings agree with previous studies that showed people who drink four or more cups of coffee every day helped to lower the risk of developing diabetes, and that the likelihood was reduced by around 50 per cent. It was also revealed that every further cup of coffee reduces the risk by almost 7 per cent.

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