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Article by: Dr Zoe Arugay Photo: Getty Images |
Recent studies have been supporting coffee as having a number of health benefits. Among these, coffee seems to have significant effects on decreasing the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and liver cirrhosis by 80%, colon cancer by 25% and type 2 diabetes mellitus by 10%, while 6 or more cups per day reduces women’s risk by 30% and men’s by 54%
Six cups of coffee? Let’s clarify the benefits of coffee on diabetes a little further.
Why Black Coffee Taken With Lunch Is Good For You
In a recent study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online February 10, 2010, results show that women who drink at least a cup of coffee with lunch were 33% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus than non-coffee drinkers. Emphasis on coffee taken with lunch, please. And this effect was seen only for black coffee.
If you compare this with subjects that consumed a minimum of three cups a day – they had 27% less risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Lunchtime coffee benefits could have something to do with timing, or they might be related to the types of food that people eat at lunch, as Dr. Daniela S. Sartorelli of the University of Sao Paulo in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil and her team suggest. Their data also suggest that the time of coffee plays a distinct role in glucose metabolism.
That leaves us with two relevant questions: What’s in coffee that gives an anti-diabetic effect? And what’s with lunch?
The Anti-Diabetic Properties of Coffee
Terry Graham, PhD of the University of Guelph in Canada is a physiologist and longtime coffee researcher who relates that when coffee is administered to lab rats, their insulin sensitivity increases, thus improving the body’s response to insulin.
Coffee's large amount of antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid, quinines and tocopherols and minerals like magnesium improve insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism and reduce the risk of diabetes. In addition, antioxidants protect our cells from damage brought about by free radicals. However, further studies are needed to further asses these substances.
The Role of Proper Timing
What’s with lunch? Is it because glucose metabolism works best in the middle of the day? We can only speculate at the moment. Researchers of this study report that “the mechanism behind the relationship hasn’t been established and no studies have looked at whether the timing of coffee drinking influences this effect.”
Furthermore, the lunchtime effect was seen only for black coffee, not for coffee with milk added. However, because the number of study participants who drank coffee with milk at lunch was small, the significance of this finding isn't clear, the researchers say.
Dosage?
Breakfast or lunch, a little moderation is always advisable. You wouldn't want to take down coffee as if you were on an alcohol drinking spree. The right intake will work health wonders.
