Coffee lovers, here's a reason to rejoice. According to a latest study coffee may help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine went on to reveal that the way of preparing your coffee may also have a role to play. Turns out that filter coffee is way more beneficial for those at risk of developing diabetes.
The findings from Chalmers University of Technology and Umea University in Sweden, using a novel method to help differentiate between the effects of filtered coffee and boiled coffee, came to a conclusion that the former may prove to be a healthier bet for those at risk.
"We have identified specific molecules - 'biomarkers' - in the blood of those taking part in the study, which indicate the intake of different sorts of coffee. These biomarkers are then used for analysis when calculating type 2 diabetes risk," said study researcher Rikard Landberg, Professor at Umea University.
"Our results now clearly show that filtered coffee has a positive effect in terms of reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. But boiled coffee does not have this effect," Landberg added.
With the use of these biomarkers, the researchers were able to show that people who drank two to three cups of filtered coffee a day had a 60 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who drank less than one cup of filtered coffee a day, whereas, consumption of boiled coffee showed no effect on the diabetes risk in the study. Scientists adopted a new technique metabolomics to differentiate the diabetes risk for boiled and filtered coffee. The participants were also made to answer dietary questionnaires.
Metabolomics helps to identify the blood concentration of specific molecules from a given food or drink and use it as an objective measurement of intake. This helps rule out limitations of self-reported intakes from the questionnaires, which are prone to large errors.
"Metabolomics is a fantastic tool, not just for capturing the intake of specific foods and drinks, but also for studying the effects that that intake has on people's metabolism. We can derive important information on the mechanisms behind how certain foods influence disease risk," said study lead author Lin Shi.
Previous studies have shown that boiled coffee tends to up the risk of heart diseases, due to the presence of diterpenes, a type of molecule found in boiled coffee.
"But it has been shown that when you filter coffee, the diterpenes are captured in the filter. As a result, you get the health benefits of the many other molecules present, such as different phenolic substances. In moderate amounts, caffeine also has positive health effects," Landber said.
Several other types of coffee preparation were not specifically investigated in the study, such as instant, espresso, cafetiere, and percolator coffee, in the study.
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