A nutrition and Public Health Specialist, Dr. James Oloyede, has said those that drink coffee and water are likely to live longer and have a lower risk of dying from chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancer.
The former Director of Nutrition Services in Osun State, also noted that consuming sweetened beverages can cause chronic, low-grade inflammation and turn into a silent killer that contributes to cardiovascular disease.
He said this while reacting to findings from a new research, which suggested that consuming coffee, water, and tea can help reduce the risk of early death for adults with diabetes.
The study found that when people with type 2 diabetes drink more coffee, tea, or plain water, it lowers the risk of dying prematurely from any cause by about 25 per cent.
It also discovered that drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages raised the risk of heart disease by 25 per cent and the risk of dying from a heart attack or another cardiovascular event by 29 per cent.
According to Dr, Oloyede, “Studies have shown that coffee drinkers live longer and are linked to lower risk of death from all causes and it could especially, prevent chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and depression.
“It is parked with nutrients magnesium, potassium, and riboflavin, a major source of antioxidants
“Sweetened beverages are sources of high calories. Studies have shown that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages can raise blood pressure.
“A high-sugar diet may also stimulate the liver to dump more harmful fats into the bloodstream. Both factors are known to boost heart disease risk.
“Science has proven that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption can cause chronic, low-grade inflammation and can turn into a silent killer that contributes to cardiovascular disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and other conditions.
Continuing, he said, “People should take three to four cups depending on the types of cups they have, but it must be taken in such a way that an individual would not consume more than 400mg of caffeine.
“A teacup of coffee would contain an average of 60mg of caffeine, while a mug could contain as much as 100mg. we are expected to take six to eight glasses or cups of fluid daily; water, lower-fat milk, and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, all count.
“However, the quantity of water or fluid to properly hydrate an individual depends on age, sex, and type of occupation. Some men and women in certain occupations or conditions can require as much as 13 and nine cups daily respectively.
“Depending on the quantity of coffee consumed, various studies have shown that drinking two to three- cups of coffee daily, whether instant, grounded, or decaffeinated, was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death than in non-coffee drinkers.
“Therefore, mild-to-moderate coffee intake of all types should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle, and people with heart disease don’t necessarily need to give up coffee.”
Mayo Cline, an online health portal, described Type 2 diabetes is a condition that happens because of a problem in how the body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) as fuel.
It noted that the long-term condition results in too much sugar circulating in the blood, and that eventually, high blood sugar levels can lead to disorders of the circulatory, nervous and immune systems.
“In Type 2 diabetes, there are primarily two problems. The pancreas does not produce enough insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into the cells. And cells respond poorly to insulin and take in less sugar.
“Type 2 diabetes used to be known as adult-onset diabetes, but both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can begin during childhood and adulthood. Type 2 is more common in older adults. But the increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more cases of Type 2 diabetes in younger people,” Mayo Clinic stated.
The World Health Organisation noted that Type 2 diabetes rose dramatically in countries of all income levels in the last three decades.
WHO further pointed out that about 1.5 million deaths were directly attributed to diabetes each year, adding that the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have steadily increased over the past few decades.
Meanwhile, the researchers that carried out the study on the impact of coffee discovered that cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes.
The study which was published in the journal BMJ, analyzed the dietary data of nearly 15,500 adults with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, who were part of the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study in the United States.
In the surveys, women made up about 75 per cent of the respondents, and their average age was 61.
Participants provided information on their intake of eight different types of beverages, including coffee, fruit juice, low-fat and whole milk, plain water, tea, and artificially sweetened drinks, every two to four years for an average of 18 years.
The study noted that four cups of coffee per day, two cups of tea, five glasses of water, and two glasses of low-fat milk, constitute a high intake of coffee (both caffeinated and decaffeinated).
According to the study, those who drank the most sugar-sweetened beverages had a 20 per cent higher risk of passing away from any cause than those who drank the least.
The new research discovered a 29 per cent increase in cardiovascular-related deaths, such as heart attacks.
The study also found that higher consumption of coffee, tea, water, and low-fat milk was linked to a lower death rate when compared to lower consumption.
Drinking coffee, it was noted, reduced the risk of premature death by 26 per cent, tea by 21 per cent, plain water by 23 per cent, and low-fat milk by 12 per cent.
Findings from the study, which focused primarily on cardiovascular illness, revealed that a larger intake of coffee was linked to an 18 per cent lower risk of heart disease, while drinking low-fat milk significantly decreased the risk of cardiac problems by 12 per cent.
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