If you have type 2 diabetes, drinking more coffee, tea or plain water could reduce your risk of premature death from any cause by about 25%, according to a new study.
However, drinking more sugary drinks increases the risk of heart disease by 25% and the risk of dying from a heart attack or other cardiovascular event by 29%, the study said. Research has shown that cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes.
“Certain beverages are absolutely more beneficial than others, depending on the type of beverage you’re comparing,” said study author Qi Sun, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard THChan School of Public Health in Boston. .
“Based on our study, I would rank black coffee, unsweetened tea and plain water over low-fat milk, fruit juice or artificially sweetened beverages,” he said. “Sugar-sweetened beverages such as cola drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and whole milk that is high in saturated fat are known risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes and premature cardiovascular disease.”
More than one serving a day was high
The study, published on Wednesday (19) in the scientific journal BMJ, analyzed the dietary data of nearly 15,500 adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were part of the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study in the United States.
Nearly 75% of respondents in the studies were women with an average age of 61. Every two to four years, for an average of 18 years, participants answered questions about their consumption of eight different types of beverages – artificially sweetened, coffee, fruit juice, low-fat and whole milk, plain water, tea and sugary drinks.
Examples of sugar-sweetened beverages include caffeinated sodas, non-caffeinated sodas, fruit punch, lemonades and other fruit drinks. More than one of these drinks per day was considered a high level of use; low consumption was less than one sugary drink per month.
The study defined a high intake of coffee (caffeinated and decaf) as four cups a day, tea as two cups a day, water as five cups a day, and low-fat milk as two cups a day. A low amount for each drink was less than one cup or glass per month.
The analysis showed that people who drank the most sugar-sweetened beverages had a 20% higher risk of death from any cause compared to those who consumed the least. Dying from a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, increased by 29%, the study found.
The risk of early death increased by 8% for each additional serving per day.
Consuming large amounts of coffee, tea, water and low-fat milk, on the other hand, was associated with lower mortality when compared to drinking a low amount, according to the study. There was a 26% lower risk of early death associated with drinking coffee, 21% for tea, 23% for plain water and 12% for low-fat milk.
Looking specifically at cardiovascular disease, the data showed that higher coffee intake was associated with an 18% reduction in the risk of heart disease. Drinking low-fat milk reduced the chances of having heart problems by 12%, according to the study.
Changes
There was some good news for die-hard sugary drink enthusiasts before they were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. When those sweet drinks were replaced with coffee or calorie-free artificial drinks after diagnosis, the risk of early death dropped significantly, the study found.
When no-calorie sugary and artificial drinks were replaced with coffee, tea, plain water and low-fat milk, there was an even lower risk of heart disease and death from any cause.
There was no data on the types of tea (black, green, herbal or fruit) consumed during the studies and no information on whether participants added sugar to their coffee or tea. The lack of data on this common additive means that “the comparative health effects of unsweetened and sweetened hot drinks remain unclear,” wrote Nita Forouhi, program leader and nutritional epidemiology researcher at the University of Cambridge, UK, in an accompanying editorial.
The study was observational, so the findings cannot be viewed through a cause-and-effect lens. However, the authors “performed detailed and repeated collection of dietary data, followed participants for nearly two decades, applied comprehensive adjustments for confounders, and conducted 12 different sensitivity analyses,” said Nita, who was not involved in the study.
“The case for avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages is compelling,” she said. “The choice of beverage is clearly important.”
Source: CNN Brasil
I am an experienced journalist and writer with a career in the news industry. My focus is on covering Top News stories for World Stock Market, where I provide comprehensive analysis and commentary on markets around the world. I have expertise in writing both long-form articles and shorter pieces that deliver timely, relevant updates to readers.
