“People with Type 2 Diabetes Who Replace Sugary Drinks with Tea and Coffee Have Lower Risk of Premature Death, According to a Long-Term Study Published in the British Medical Journal”

2023-04-22 00:41:29

A long-term study concluded that people with type 2 diabetes who drank high-sugar drinks were more likely to die prematurely, regardless of the cause of death.

Research suggests that people with type 2 diabetes should replace sugary drinks with tea and coffee to reduce the risk of premature death.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, showed that people who changed their drinking habits after being diagnosed with diabetes had lower rates of premature death from cardiovascular disease or other causes.

Experts, including professors at Harvard Medical School, analyzed data on 15,486 people – 74 percent of them women and an average age of 61 – who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. What they drank was assessed in a questionnaire, which was updated every two to four years.

During 18.5 years of follow-up, 3447 (22%) cardiovascular diseases were diagnosed and 7638 (49.3%) deaths were recorded. The data indicated that people who drank the most sugary drinks were more likely to die early from any cause.

However, people with higher coffee drinkers (up to six cups a day) had a 26 per cent lower risk of premature death, while the risk was 21 per cent lower for higher tea intakes, 23 per cent for water and 12 per cent lower. For low fat milk.

Compared to those who did not change their drinking habits after being diagnosed with diabetes, those who drank more coffee, tea or water were 18 percent less likely to die early.

In terms of cardiovascular disease specifically, sugary drinks were associated with a 25 percent increased risk of stroke and a 29 percent increased risk of dying from it. Coffee and low-fat milk were associated with lower risks.

In the study, the researchers noted that their findings are based on observation rather than proving cause and effect. But they concluded that substituting sugary drinks, artificially sweetened beverages, fruit juice, or whole milk for coffee, tea, or plain water “was consistently associated with lower all-cause mortality.”