I wish I could figure this out. It seems the debate has been ongoing for decades as to whether coffee is healthy, unhealthy, or neither. Last week, I read something on CBC on-line:

"Coffee Reduces Diabetes Risk

"When it comes to doing studies, coffee is a great thing to look at. People are so routine and predictable in the number of cups of coffee they have every day, it makes a pretty reliable survey questions. Researchers asked 126,000 people about their coffee drinking habits as part of a larger survey over the course of 18 years. What they found is fantastic: People who drink 1 to 3 cups of coffee have a decrease in their diabetes risk. But it gets better for people who drink lots of coffee (6 or more cups a day). These people had a 54% reduction in diabetes risk (for men) and a 30% reduction in diabetes risk for women. Another study showed even bettter results (though with less than 1000 people). In that study, current (or past) coffee drinkers had a 60% reduction of diabetes risk compared to people who never drank coffee.

"Of course, anyone with diabetes or concerned about diabetes should also watch what they put in their coffee. 6 cups of coffee a day may help, but not if each cup is loaded with sugar and cream.


"While this study (and others supporting it) show that coffee can reduce diabetes risk, we also know that poor sleep habits can increase diabetes risk. There is also the possibility that people who drink lots of coffee have other behaviors that are healthy (like burning off calories from fidgeting or not drinking sugary sodas). So there might be a combination of health benefits going on, some linked to coffee and some linked to behaviors that coffee drinkers do (or don't do).

"People who drank only decaffeinated coffee showed about half the diabetes risk reduction as people who drank caffeinated coffee (compared to those who drank no coffee). So it seems the caffeine is part of the benefit, but something else in coffee helps too.

"The caffeine itself seems to have some benefit. Researchers also think that a certain type of chemical found in coffee (called quinines) may help. When lab rats are given quinines, their sensitivity to insulin increases. That means it takes less insulin for the body to do its job of regulating blood sugar. In diabetes, cells become less and less sensitive to insulin so the body needs to make more and more until the pancreas eventually wears out. Other chemicals in coffee may help too."

At this point it beats me if I want to give up drinking coffee because of the caffeine . . .

Jak