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What is diabetes?

Diabetes occurs when the level of glucose in the blood becomes higher than normal. There are two main types of diabetes - Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

After you eat, the food is broken down into sugars. The main sugar is called glucose which passes into the bloodstream. To remain healthy, the blood glucose level should not be too high or too low.

When the blood glucose level begins to rise (after we eat), the level of a hormone called insulin should also rise. Insulin works on the cells of the body and makes them take in glucose from the bloodstream. Some of the glucose is used by the cells for energy, and some is converted into glycogen or fat (which are stores of energy). When the blood glucose level begins to fall (between meals), the level of insulin falls. Some glycogen or fat is then converted back into glucose which is released from the cells into the bloodstream.

What is Type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes usually starts after the age of 40 and develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly.

New research appears to show that coffee and tea drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The Dutch scientists, from the Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre in Utrecht, evaluated questionnaires filled in by 40,000 people. They concluded: that coffee and tea consumption were both associated with a lowered risk of Type 2 diabetes.

This association is not explained by the magnesium, potassium and caffeine present in these beverages. Researchers in 'Archives of Internal Medicine', a bi-monthly professional medical journal published by the American Medical Association looked at 18 studies involving nearly 500,000 people. They found that people who drink three or four cups of coffee or tea a day cut their risk by a fifth or more. The same amount of decaffeinated coffee had an even bigger effect, lowering risk by a third.

The researchers combined and analysed the data and found that each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day cut diabetes risk by 7%.

Lead researcher Dr Rachel Huxley, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said that since dinkers of decaffeinated coffee we also associated with a lower risk of diabetes, the link is unlikely to be solely related to caffeine.

Instead, it is suggested that the seemingly beneficial effects in tea and coffee are probably explained by 'flavonoid antioxidants'.

Diabetes UK's Response

Dr James Pickett, Research Officer at Diabetes UK, said: "This is interesting research, however it does not prove that coffee and tea protect against Type 2 diabetes. This is because it is impossible to know what other factors might affect a person's risk of developing the condition.

Lifestyle Factors