Adding sugar to coffee negate its diabetes protection — Study

Researchers said regular coffee consumption without any additives reduces the risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) by 10 per cent per cup, but this protection is significantly weakened when sugar or artificial sweeteners are added.

In addition, this study published online in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition said adding cream doesn’t affect coffee’s protective benefits, but adding coffee whitener shows a trend toward reduced protection.

Researchers had analyzed the association between coffee consumption and the risk for T2D in 150,106 participants from three large prospective US-based cohort studies by reviewing the inclusion of sugar, artificial sweeteners, cream, or nondairy coffee whiteners; participants were followed up for 3,665,408 person-years.

Participants provided updated information on food and beverage intake using validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires every four years, capturing more than 130 items including detailed coffee consumption and additive use patterns.

Those diagnosed with T2D were requested to complete an additional questionnaire to specify their symptoms, diagnostic tests, and medications.

They reported that each additional cup of coffee consumed without additives was associated with a 10 per cent lower risk for T2D in the pooled analysis of three cohorts. Every cup of coffee consumed with sugar was associated with a 5 per cent lower risk for T2D; a 7 per cent risk attenuation was observed with the artificial sweetener addition.

Cream use showed no significant impact on the protective association between coffee consumption and the risk for T2D; although nondairy coffee whiteners attenuated the association between coffee consumption and the risk for T2D, the attenuation was not statistically significant.

As anticipated, coffee consumption with both artificial sweeteners and sugar did not offer any protection against the risk for T2D.

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This study did not account for commercially available sugar-sweetened coffee beverages with a high caloric content. The habit of adding milk to coffee could not be examined as it was not assessed in the food frequency questionnaires. Information on coffee types such as bottled, brewed, canned, drip, ground, instant, liquid concentrate, or ready-to-drink coffee was not available.

Given the observational nature of the analysis, causality could not be established. Additionally, since most participants were White healthcare professionals, the findings may not be generalizable to other populations.