To me, there is nothing better than a cup of fresh brewed coffee in the morning. For many years I felt guilty about my love for this drink, as it was often negatively portrayed in research studies. But over time, coffee has gained nutritional ground. In fact, two recent studies revealed some intriguing benefits of this brew.

The first study involved the diet habits of almost 70,000 French women, aged 41 to 72¹. Eleven years after the initial evaluation, researchers found that 1,415 women had developed elevated blood sugar. However, diet analysis showed that women who consumed three or more cups of coffee at lunchtime had a reduced incidence of developing elevated blood sugar by 27%. Total caffeine intake was linked to statistically significant decreased risk, but positive effects were noted with both regular and decaffeinated coffee. Researchers indicated that the data supported an inverse association between coffee consumption and elevated blood sugar.

In a second study, 47 habitual coffee drinking men refrained from consuming it for one month². In the second month, they were allowed four cups of filtered coffee per day; in the third month, they drank eight cups daily. As their coffee consumption increased, significant increases in HDL (good) cholesterol were reported, along with favorable ratios of LDL to HDL cholesterol. No changes were noted in regard to blood sugar.

These benefits are likely related to polyphenols contained in the coffee bean. Obviously, drinking a pot of caffeinated coffee every day is not the best idea. But having 2 or 3 cups daily would likely have positive benefits. For those who are not keen on drinking coffee, there are nutritional products in capsule form that contain many of its beneficial active ingredients.

1. Sartorelli DS, Fagherazzi G, Balkau B, Touillaud MS, Boutron-Ruault MC, de Lauzon-Guillain B, Clavel-Chapelon F. Differential effects of coffee on the risk of type 2 diabetes according to meal consumption in a French cohort of women: the E3N/EPIC cohort study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. February 10, 2010. [Epub ahead of print]

2. Kempf K, Herder C, Erlund I, Kolb H, Martin S, Carstensen M, Koenig W, Sundvall J, Bidel S, Kuha S, Tuomilehto J. Effects of coffee consumption on subclinical inflammation and other risk factors for type 2 diabetes: a clinical trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. February 24, 2010. [Epub ahead of print]