Risk of type 2 diabetes reduced by coffee

Coffee lovers have reason to rejoice: according to a new study, people who drink four or more cups of coffee a day have a 50 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90-95 percent of diabetes cases in the world.

The report by Huang Kun and his colleagues from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, was published in January in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The research team identified two categories of compounds in coffee that significantly inhibited human isletamyloid polypeptide (hIAPP)， which causes type 2 diabetes.

They also found that each coffee refill decreases the risk by almost 7 percent.

"A stronger effect may thus be expected for a regular coffee drinker," the researchers concluded.

In a recent interview, Huang advised people to drink black coffee without any milk, sugar or sweetener, which have a negative impact on the coffee's ability to block the harmful hIAPP.

"If you do not like to drink coffee, you can take green tea instead," Huang said, adding that green tea is also rich in anti-diabetes compounds.

Huang said his team is now busy researching and developing drugs to treat diabetes based on the studies.

This is undoubtedly good news to many people troubled by diabetes. China's Ministry of Health estimated in November last year that there were about 90 million diabetes patients in the country.

However, some doubt the validity of the findings.

"The study was performed on cells and not on humans, and the research doesn't prove that type 2 diabetes is not caused by another habit that patients have," a Web user named Ronald Silva said in a post on dailygossip.org.

Still some health experts don't recommend too much coffee. The US-based Mayo Clinic suggests no more than two to four cups a day, since more than that can cause insomnia, upset stomach, and anxiety, AFP reported.