Coffe, Tea and DM

Beverage Service: Coffee, Tea, and the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes

Mary Desmond Pinkowish, MPH
Reviewed by Clifton Jackness, MD, Attending Physician in Endocrinology, Lenox Hill Hospital and the Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY

Take Note

• In a large 2014 meta-analysis, an inverse dose-response relationship was demonstrated between diabetes risk and consumption of coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea
• Another meta-analysis confirmed these findings and showed that the effect was stronger in women, nonsmokers, and people with a body mass index of <25 kg="" li="" m2="">

Smoking, obesity, physical inactivity—the list of type 2 diabetes risk factors is lengthy and well-known. Less well-known, however, is that specific foods also have been associated with diabetes risk. In particular, trans fats and red meat are associated with higher risk, while whole grains may be protective.1-3 In 2005, evidence emerged that something many people crave—coffee—can help significantly lower their risk for developing diabetes.4 Since then, other studies, some of them including decaffeinated coffee and tea, have reached similar conclusions.5