Scepticism over study on coffee's diabetes link

An 11-year observational study by University of Minnesota recently suggested that consuming six cups of coffee daily decreased the risk of developing diabetes by 22 per cent and decaffeinated coffee by 33 per cent.

The reason for the scepticism lies in the fact that coffee, but not the decaffeinated kind, is widely consumed in the UAE.

The UAE has one of the highest rates of Type II diabetes in the world, affecting one in five adults above 20.

"All the study proves is that diabetes is a multi-factoral disease with many variables affecting its development," said Dr Eyad Ksseiry, endocrinologist at Welcare Hospital.

'Change lifestyle'

He said that people should adopt lifestyles that are proven to prevent diabetes instead of adding coffee, decaffeinated or otherwise, into their diet.

He, however, acknowledged the potential benefits of using decaffeinated coffee as a tool to decrease diabetes risk in the UAE, if future studies confirmed it as true.

"Anything that would decrease diabetes by 33 per cent would be great, especially in a disease that is set to double by 2020, especially in this region," Dr. Ksseiry said.

But that day is long time in coming, according to public health officials.

Dr Juma Bilal Fairuz, director of preventive department at the Ministry of Health, said researchers needed stronger evidence to support their theories before the UAE would use coffee as a weapon in the fight against diabetes.

"People should deviate from high-risk behaviours (such as bad diet and sedentary lifestyle) first instead of shifting to decaffeinated coffee," he said.

He added that people had the right to start drinking coffee or to switch decaffeinated coffee if they wanted to.

Antioxidants 'slow absorption of sugar'

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was conducted by University of Minnesota on 29,000 women over a period of 11 years, collecting data on their beverage and food consumption, including coffee and decaffeinated coffee.

Researchers found that women who drank more than six cups of coffee daily were 22 per cent less likely to develop diabetes.

For women who consumed decaffeinated coffee, the risk dropped by 33 per cent.

From the findings, researchers concluded that the antioxidants in the coffee, rather than the caffeine in the brew, was slowing the absorption of sugars by the body's cells.