Title:Coffee: A Dietary Intervention on Type 2 Diabetes?
Volume: 24
Issue: 4
Author(s): Susana Casal and Irene Rebelo
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Coffee, chlorogenic acids, lactones, trigonelline, norharman, glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance,
adiponectine.
Abstract: Coffee beverages, prepared in a multitude of ways around the world, are increasingly
part of our daily lives. Although considered an unhealthy beverage for decades, coffee is
increasingly the headline of medical journals in association with a reduced risk for several diseases.
What if this beverage could give us pleasure, while modulating mood and lowering the
risk for several diseases of the modern society, including type 2 diabetes (T2D)? Based on the
most recent epidemiological and research data, long-term consumption of coffee beverages is
associated with a lower risk of developing T2D in healthy individuals, probably involving
multiple mechanisms, with interventions on glucose homeostasis, antioxidant activity, and
inflammatory biomarkers. Several coffee constituents potentially responsible for these effects
are described, as well as the factors that make their presence highly variable, with interesting
effects associated with chlorogenic acids, trigonelline and norharman. Due to the high number
of compounds contained in coffee, we explore the potential synergic effect within the coffee
matrix. Moreover, acute coffee consumption shows different health effects from those
achieved on a long-term daily consumption, and not all coffee beverages are similar. Still, despite
the huge amount or work developed in the last decade, the substances and mechanisms
behind these protective effects on T2D are still to be fully elucidated, being therefore soon for
dietary interventions based on coffee.