Health Watch: Coffee & Diabetes

A recent meta-analysis of 18 different studies revealed that the intake of coffee and tea (both caffeinated and decaffeinated) reduced the likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes, a form typically developed later in life. The Archives of Internal Medicine evaluated studies that involved nearly 500,000 people and determined that there was a common link between people who drank 3 - 4 cups of coffee or tea per day and people who had a decreased chance -- by a 5th or more -- of developing this type of diabetes, sometimes referred to as 'Adult Onset.' Unlike the form often diagnosed in childhood, in which the patient does not produce insulin, Type 2 sufferers often produce insulin, but their cellular insulin receptors are unable to process both insulin and the sugars to which it attaches during metabolism. Further analysis will be performed to confirm the findings, but preliminary reports suggest that each cup of coffee or tea per day can cut the chances of developing the disease by a multiple of 7%. So, you just have to drink about 14 cups a day, and you're covered.