Diabetic? Drinking both green tea & coffee may help you live longer

Green tea (Image: Creazilla)

As if green tea and coffee needed any more validation, along comes another piece of research that could put a smile on your face, especially if you are a diabetic. A Japanese study says drinking four or more cups of green with two or more cups of coffee a day can reduce all-cause mortality by a whopping 63% in diabetics over a period of around five years.

In simple terms, people with type 2 diabetes who drink both the beverages daily are at a lowered risk of dying from any cause.

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The study has been published in the British Medical Journal Open Diabetes Research & Care.

Diabetics are often more susceptible to diseases like brittle bones, circulatory disease, dementia and cancer, all of which leave them more prone to early mortality.

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Green tea and coffee are both full of powerful bioactive compounds that can help reduce the risk of these co-morbidities on their own. When consumed together, their therapeutic qualities are complimented and amplified.
Researchers tracked 4923 people with type 2 diabetes for an average of over five years and studied what they ate and drank.

They found that the subjects who drank any one of the beverages had lower odds of dying from any cause, compared to people who didn’t drink either coffee or tea. The lowest odds of mortality was seen in people who drank both!

Green Tea

The research found out that drinking up to one cup of green tea a day was associated with 15% lower odds of death. Drinking 2-3 cups was associated with 27% reduced mortality. More than four cups of green tea meant 40% lower odds.

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Coffee

Coffee drinkers who downed up to one cup daily were associated with 12% lower odds. Those who had one cup a day was associated with 19% lower odds. Having two or more cups meant 41% lower odds.

Health benefits of green tea and coffee together!

Those who had both green tea and coffee benefited the most.

“The risk of death was even lower for those who drank both green tea and coffee every day: 51% lower for 2-3 cups of green tea plus 2 or more of coffee; 58% lower for 4 or more cups of green tea plus 1 cup of coffee every day; and 63% lower for a combination of 4 or more cups of green tea and 2 or more cups of coffee every day,” said the study.

A word of advice from the researchers

While the findings were encouraging, the researchers did mention many caveats. Firstly, the study does not imply a cause and effect relationship between the two. It was rather an observation.

A lot depended on the subjective assessments of the quantities of the beverages drunk.

They also mentioned that there may be a difference in the quality of green tea from Japan compared to other parts of the world.

They also added that caffeine in coffee may alter insulin production and sensitivity, and it could be harmful to the circulatory system.

Coffee also contains numerous bioactive components, including phenols. It also has potentially harmful effects on the circulatory system and is known to alter insulin production and sensitivity.