According to a research paper shared in the journal BMJ Medicine, frequent coffee consumption may help lower body fat and cut the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Researchers were interested in determining if coffee users’ protection against Type 2 diabetes was due to their caffeine intake or to other factors, such as their middle-class status and ability to live a healthy lifestyle.
The team of researchers used a statistical method referred to as Mendelian randomization, which is a tool that explores a link between a characteristic and an outcome, to examine almost 10,000 individuals with genetic qualities, such as the CYP1A2 and AHR genes, that impact how the body manages coffee intake.
People with these genetic variations often drink less coffee but have high blood levels of caffeine. They are also thought to absorb and metabolize caffeine more slowly.
It was discovered that the same group of individuals had a lower BMI, body fat, and risk of Type 2 diabetes, clearly indicating that caffeine was to blame.
A lower BMI was responsible for around half of the same group of individuals’ decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes.
According to some studies, caffeine increases the body’s ability to burn fat and/or helps individuals feel fuller, which encourages them to eat less. Being slimmer also lowers the chance of getting Type 2 diabetes.
The CDC estimates that around 90-95 percent of Americans who have diabetes have Type 2 diabetes.
People 45 years or older are most commonly affected by type 2 diabetes.
Senior author of the study, Dr. Dipender Gill, says that “These results suggest that caffeine may be linked to lower BMI, lower body fat and reduced likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes. It might improve people’s metabolism, although this does not mean people should just go out and drink lots of high calorie caffeinated drinks.”
Caffeine is present in most cups of coffee and, according to research, 100 mg a day can result in an extra 100 calories burned each day. However, coffee also contains other substances like diterpenes that may be harmful to your metabolism.
The study also discovered that people with greater blood caffeine levels had no lower risk of developing cardiovascular conditions such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and stroke.
Gill concluded that “If there’s more evidence from bigger trials in the future, it might suggest that people should consider drinking espressos or black coffee in order to reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes.”
