New Study: Diabetics see lower death risk if they drink coffee or green tea

Taken from an article by Madeline Farber , Fox News

Coffee and green tea could lower the death risk for Type 2 diabetes sufferers — but only if they drink a certain amount, this according to a new observational study published in the online journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.

For the study, which was peer-reviewed, researchers tracked the health of some 4,923 people in Japan with type 2 diabetes for about 5 years. Participants —  2,790  were men, and 2,133 were women — filled out a questionnaire that involved 58 questions about their food and drink habits, including how much green tea and coffee they drank each day. Participants were also asked to provide information on how often they exercised and if they smoked or consumed alcohol, and how much sleep they averaged each night, among other lifestyle inquiries.

Of the people that were surveyed, each drank varying levels of coffee and green tea, and some did not drink either. Over the five years the participants were tracked, 309 died, with the main causes of death being cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Interestingly, the researchers noted that in the case of green tea, drinking up to one cup a day was linked to a 15% lower risk of death, while those who drank between two and three cups had a 27% lower risk. Drinking four or more cups of green tea was associated with a whopping 40% lower risk of death.

Coffee drinkers saw similar benefits. Those who consumed up to one cup each day had a 12% lower risk, while those who drank one cup a day had 19% lower odds. Meanwhile, two or more cups were associated with 41% lower odds, the researchers found.

“The risk of death was even lower for those who drank both green tea and coffee every day: 51% lower for two to three cups of green tea plus two or more of coffee; 58% lower for four or more cups of green tea plus one cup of coffee every day; and 63% lower for a combination of four or more cups of green tea and two or more cups of coffee every day,” per the release.

“People with Type 2 diabetes are more prone to circulatory diseases, dementia, cancer, and bone fractures. And despite an increasing number of effective drugs, lifestyle modifications, such as exercise and diet, remain a cornerstone of treatment,” the researchers wrote, noting that past research suggests that regularly drinking coffee and green tea “may be beneficial for health because of the various bioactive compounds these beverages contain.”

“This prospective cohort study demonstrated that greater consumption of green tea and coffee was significantly associated with reduced all-cause mortality.