Coffee’s Anti-Diabetes Mechanism Revealed

Previous studies have shown a beneficial effect of coffee consumption to reduce an individual’s risk of type-2 diabetes.  Christian Herder, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf (Germany), and colleagues investigated the effects of daily coffee consumption on biomarkers of coffee intake, subclinical inflammation, oxidative stress, glucose, and lipid metabolism. The team enrolled 47 habitual coffee drinkers, asking them to refrain from coffee drinking for one month, then instructing them to consume 4 cups of filtered coffee daily in the second month, and culminating in the third month with 8 cups of filtered coffee per day.  The team found that blood levels of caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid metabolites increased following coffee consumption. .In addition, levels of the pro-inflammatory interleukin-18 and 8-isoprostane (a marker of oxidative stress) decreased by 8 and 16%, respectively, while adiponectin (a protein hormone whose levels inversely relate to body fat) levels increased by 6%.  Beneficial changes in cholesterol levels were also detected following the third month.  The researchers conclude that: “ Coffee consumption appears to have beneficial effects on subclinical inflammation and HDL cholesterol.”