Sam Amico
If you can’t get enough caffeine, then you are in luck. Drinking coffee may just improve your health.
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Previously, coffee had been known for some of its health and mental benefits, though to what it extent hasn’t really been known or studied extensively.
But now, a new study proclaims that coffee just might slash the risk of obesity, as well as Type 2 diabetes.
The study was published in BMJ Medicine journal and indicated that regular consumption could indeed reduce body fat. And body fat is responsible for a long list of health issues — from diabetes to heart disease, America’s No. 1 killer.
Researchers were actually looking to see if caffeine would help keep coffee drinkers safer from Type 2 diabetes than being middle-class or being able to afford a healthier lifestyle.
“This study looked at nearly 10,000 people with genetic traits — such as the CYP1A2 and AHR genes — that affect how the body handles caffeine intake by using a statistical technique called Mendelian randomization, which is a tool that investigates a relationship between a trait and an outcome,” the New York Post wrote.
In other words, some people who drink less coffee actually can have more caffeine in their system as a result of a genetic trait. These types of people have been studied and research has shown that they generally have lower body mass index, body fat mass, and risk of Type 2 diabetes — all because of their elevated levels of caffeine.
Other studies have suggested that drinking caffeine can help individuals feel full, making them less tempted to overeat. Thinner bodies, of course, are associated with fewer health risks.
About one in 10 Americans have diabetes, with about 90 to 95 percent of those suffering from Type 2 diabetes, according to the CDC.
So bottoms up. Go ahead and have another cup of joe.
“These results suggest caffeine may be linked to a lower body mass index, lower body fat and a reduced likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Dipender Gill, senior author of the study from Imperial College London, said. “It may improve people’s metabolism, although this doesn’t mean people should go out and drink lots of high-calorie caffeinated drinks like chai lattes.”
