Drinking up to four coffees a day can reduce the risk of type two diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, a new study has revealed.
An international team of scientists found an “association between coffee consumption” and a decreased risk of serious health issues.
Even decaffeinated coffee provides a significant health boost, according to the team from the universities of Navarre in Spain and Catania in Italy.
They looked at thousands of newly-diagnosed cases from eight different countries, examining the link between coffee consumption and metabolic syndrome, which is described by the NHS as a “particularly dangerous” combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.”
Estefania Toledo, of Navarre University, said the analysis showed moderate coffee consumption could reduce the risk of contracting the syndrome - which affects one in four adults in the UK - by an average of 26 per cent.
She added that all coffee, whether caffeinated or not, contained “compounds that may also have beneficial effects on health”.
These include polyphenols, trigonelline and melanoidins, which are all thought to have antioxidant or anti-inflammatory qualities.
The researchers, who were independent but were commissioned by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, a body funded by coffee companies said their findings occurred in both men and women.
But they acknowledged that “further research” is needed to “clarify the associations between coffee and metabolic syndrome.”
