Coffee drinkers are less likely to have diabetes.

Coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of developing diabetes than non-coffee drinkers, according to new research. NEW YORK, Nov 2, 2006 (Reuters)-Bertha McKenzie of the University of California, San Diego Smith and his colleagues report that even former coffee drinkers have this effect. "There is a growing body of literature that clearly and strongly points to something in coffee," Smith told Reuters. It's unclear what exactly it is, she said, but it's probably not caffeine, because decaffeinated coffee works just as well. Smith and her colleagues surveyed 910 men and women, all over 50 at the start of the study, and none of them had diabetes. When followed up about eight years later, those who drank coffee or were regular coffee drinkers were about 60 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not drink coffee.

Diabetes can be roughly divided into two types, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, mostly in adolescence will occur, with genetic closely related. About 90 to 95 percent of diabetes is type 2 diabetes, also known as adult diabetes, which usually occurs after the age of 40. After adjusting for exercise, weight, blood pressure, smoking and sex life, the researchers still saw the effect of regular coffee drinking on the risk of type 2 diabetes. It even worked in people who had glucose intolerance (the early warning sign of diabetes) at the start of the study. The researchers couldn't say how much coffee it would take to produce this effect. Respondents generally drank less coffee, Smith said. Smith and colleagues concluded that "given the increasing prevalence of obesity, glucose intolerance and diabetes, and the fact that most adults in most Western societies drink coffee daily, the benefits of coffee may have widespread effects and further research is warranted."