* FOR PRESERVATION PURPOSES ONLY * Credit: Tim Sandle

In animal studies, the equivalent of drinking up to four cups of coffee each day appears to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is based on two compounds contained within coffee. Over the long term researchers hope a drug can be fashioned based on the chemicals to help with diabetes prevention.

The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is a combination of genetic, lifestyle and dietary factors and no drug compound alone can act as a magic bullet. However, coffee can help to prevent the onset of the disease.

To explore the active substances in coffee, researchers have undertaken studies on rat cell lines. The investigation has shown bioactive substances called cafestol and caffeic acid, found within both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, lead to increases in insulin secretion when glucose is added.

Specifically, cafestol increases glucose uptake in muscle cells and works in a similar way to currently prescribed ant-idiabetic drugs. Importantly, the data to data is based on animal cell lines and the results may not be directly applicable to people.

Interestingly, lower levels of cafestol are found in coffee brewed through coffee filters to make drip coffee, so for those wishing to up their coffee intake, this may not be the best form of coffee to drink.

The research is published in the Journal of Natural Products. The paper is titled “Cafestol, a Bioactive Substance in Coffee, Stimulates Insulin Secretion and Increases Glucose Uptake in Muscle Cells: Studies In Vitro.”

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(Our Diabetes Freedom review is something we wrote in hopes of giving people an extra resource to get healthier… there’s a lot of hype and sensationalism in the product, yes, but it’s a natural way to maybe feel better and after due research, we came to the conclusion that it can’t hurt trying some of these online remedies)