Drinking coffee in moderation linked to lower diabetes, heart disease risk

• A new study suggests that moderate consumption of coffee and caffeine on a regular basis could be beneficial to prevent diseases like type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke.
• Compared with people who did not consume caffeine at all or very little per day, people who drank 3 coffee drinks per day or 200 to 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day had a 48.1% or 40.7% reduced risk for new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity.
• Experts tout many of the other beneficial properties in tea and coffee but warn that other caffeinated beverages may not have the same benefits — and that there os no causal relationship between prevention of cardiometabolic multimorbidity and caffeine.

Moderate consumption of coffee and caffeine on a regular basis may help prevent cardiometabolic multimorbidity — or the co-occurrence of cardiometabolic diseases — which includes conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke, a new study suggests.

The research, published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, examined data from the UK Biobank, which is a broader database feature the health information of more than 500,000 people between the ages of 37 and 73.

The UK Biobank study data included inpatient hospital data, death registry records, primary care history, and self-reported medical conditions. After eliminating people with ambiguous information regarding their caffeine intake, the researchers were left with more than 360,000 people for analysis.

Drinking coffee in moderation may help lower disease risk

This new study found that, compared with people who did not drink caffeine at all or who drank less than 100 milligrams (mg) per day, people who drank three coffee drinks per day or 200 to 300 mg of caffeine a day had a 48.1% or 40.7% reduced risk for new-onset cardiometabolic diseases.

Previous studies have assessed the potential benefits of coffee, tea, and caffeine, but their role in the prevention of any cardiometabolic diseases has not been clearly defined.

This study’s results, too, suggest an association rather than a causal relationship.

Nevertheless, this association may be meaningful to health, seeing that people with a single cardiometabolic disease may have twice the mortality risk of those without any cardiometabolic diseases, according to the researchers.

Moreover, those with cardiometabolic multimorbidity may also have an up to seven times higher risk of all-cause mortality. The researchers also noted that cardiometabolic multimorbidity may present higher risks of loss of physical function and mental stress than those with single diseases.

How does caffeine affect glucose levels?

Caffeine has been associated with various adverse effects, including insomnia, depressionTrusted Source, incontinenceTrusted Source, headaches, and stomach problems.

People with type 2 diabetes report that their blood glucose (sugar) levels rise after consuming caffeine. There is some evidence that caffeine may impair insulin action, leading to a small but detectable rise in blood sugar levels, particularly after meals.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that healthy adults limit their caffeine intake to a maximum of 400 mg a day, or about 4 or 5 cups of coffee. This amount is not associated with negative effects.

The amount of caffeine included in some common foods and beverages are:

• one 8-ounce cup of coffee: 95 to 200 mg
• one 12-ounce can of cola: 35 to 45 mg
• one 8-ounce energy drink: 70 to 100 mg
• one 8-ounce cup of tea: 14 to 60 mg.