What effects of coffee could help to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes?
There are different theories about the components of coffee that have beneficial effects for type 2 diabetes. Caffeine seems to be an obvious component of coffee. Therefore, it is logical to think that caffeine may affect the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, studies show an inverse relationship between decaffeinated coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes, which suggests that caffeine may not explain the reduced risk of type 2 diabetes (Van Dam, 2006). These results suggest that no one can be certain of the effects of caffeine and the risk for type 2 diabetes. Chlorogenic acid is a major component of coffee that may provide more of an explanation for coffee’s effect on risk for type 2 diabetes. Chlorogenic acid intake is estimated to be several times higher for people who drink coffee regularly compared to nondrinkers (Van Dam, 2006). Chlorogenic acid has many proposed beneficial effects on glucose metabolism. Van Dam (2006) says that chlorogenic acid “may delay glucose absorpt
