This is suggested by new research published in BMJ Medicine by an international research team that examined the relationship between blood caffeine levels and the risk of obesity and diabetes.
Caffeine helps burn fat and may reduce the risk of diabetes. This is suggested by new research published in British Medical Journal of Medicine by an international research team that examined the relationship between blood caffeine levels and the risk of obesity and diabetes, highlighting the potential benefits of consumption of this natural stimulant. Coffee, as you know, is one rich source of caffeinebut also tea and some energy drink contain varying amounts of this substance. In relation to their wide diffusion (coffee and tea, after water, are two of the most consumed beverages in the world), researchers are carrying out in-depth evaluations of the effects that their long-term intake can have on health.
Caffeine, net of other compounds that may be present in different beverages, has been shown to play a role in influencing the amount of body fat, a factor which in turn may determine the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In particular, the findings of the new analysis showed that higher levels of caffeine in the blood are associated with a lower body mass index (BMI). and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
To evaluate the specific effects of caffeine from those of other compounds, the researchers have a relatively new technique, called Mendelian assessment, which uses genetic variants as a tool to investigate the causal relationship between a trait (in this case caffeine consumption) and an outcome (reduction in body weight and risk of developing type 2 diabetes). Specifically, scholars have looked into the role of two common variants of the CYP1A2 and AHR genes in nearly 10,000 people of predominantly European ancestry who were taking part in six long-term studies.
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The CYP1A2 and AHR genes, specifically, are associated the rate of caffeine metabolism in the body: people carrying genetic variants associated with slower caffeine metabolism drink, on average, less coffee but have higher blood levels of caffeine than people who metabolize it rapidly to reach or maintain the levels required for its stimulating effects .
The analysis indicated that “genetically predicted higher blood caffeine levels are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes” explain the authors of the study, estimating that “about half (43%) of the effect of caffeine on susceptibility to type 2 diabetes is mediated by the reduction in BMI”.
Therefore, what emerged does not mean that the consumption of drinks containing caffeine constitutes a treatment for obesity, nor that increasing the use of caffeine-based drinks is an advantage, but that people with certain genetic variants of coffee metabolism can potentially burn fat at a faster rate compared to those who do not have them as an inherited trait, with potential health benefits.
However, the results of the analysis offer “important information about potential causal effect of caffeine on adiposity [obesità] and the risk of diabetes – highlighted Dr. Depender Gill of the School of Public Health of Imperial College London and senior author of the study -. However, more clinical trials are needed before people use these findings to change their dietary preferences”.