Coffee May Cut Diabetes Risk

Coffee, especially the decaffeinated kind, seems to offer protection against adult-onset diabetes, according to a study released Monday.

What causes the apparent effect is unclear, the report from the University of Minnesota said, but it is possible that minerals and nonnutritive plant chemicals found in rich amounts in the coffee bean may favorably affect blood-sugar levels or protect the pancreas from stress. The finding, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on a study of about 29,000 post-menopausal women in Iowa who were followed for 11 years.

Women who drank more than six cups of any type of coffee per day had a 22% lower risk of diabetes than those who drank no coffee, the study found. Those who drank more than six cups of decaffeinated coffee daily had a 33% risk reduction, it said.