Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Green tea and coffee: Can they prevent diabetes?

The Facts:
  • Drinking green tea or coffee may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
  • Over 17,000 people were involved in this 5-year study.
  • The risk of type 2 diabetes was lower in people who consumed 6 or more cups of green tea or 3 or more cups of coffee per day.
  • Women and overweight men benefited most.

Shaun’s comment: In this enormous questionnaire study, green tea, coffee and caffeine were associated with a reduced chance of getting diabetes. Given the epidemic of diabetes that we are seeing in many countries, these are important findings. Green tea is popular in China, Japan and the Middle East and has had little oxidisation (chemical reaction with oxygen) during the processing. This is different to the tea commonly consumed in Western countries (black tea) which is more heavily oxidised.

Study Reference:

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