These two drinks together were found to reduce the risk of death by 63 percent in diabetes patients.
Drinking green tea and coffee together daily has been shown to reduce the risk of death from any cause among diabetic people.
When diabetes patients consumed 4 cups of green tea with an additional 2 cups of coffee every day the chance of dying fell by 63 percent, according to a study.
Cancer, dementia, breaking bones, heart disease, and vascular disorders are more common among people with type 2 diabetes.
Although various powerful medicines for treating type 2 diabetes are available, changes in lifestyle including eating habits, improving diet, and exercise seem to be the main way to defeat this disease.
Scientists have suggested that the daily consumption of green tea and coffee could offer some health benefits since these drinks contain several bioactive compounds such as phenolics, theanine, and caffeine.
For 5 years, they followed almost 5,000 Japanese with type 2 diabetes and asked them to complete a food and drink questionnaire every day.
The team found that the risk of death from any disease including cancer and heart disease was lower in those who drank either green tea or coffee or both than those who didn’t drink them.
Interestingly, a higher consumption of these two beverages was linked to an even greater reduced risk of dying.
Drinking a cup of green tea every day showed a 15 percent reduction in mortality risk, 2 or 3 cups a day lowered the odds by 27 percent, and having 4 cups reduced the risk by 40 percent.
For coffee, 1 drink a day was linked to a 19 percent reduced risk of death while having 2 or more cups a day reduced the odds by 41 percent.
Drinking 2 cups of coffee plus 2 or 3 cups of green tea a day lowered the odds by 51 percent.
A combination of at least 2 cups of coffee and 4 cups of green tea per day led to a 63 percent risk reduction of death from any cause.
The biological effect of these two beverages are not fully clear.
However, the researchers explain that green tea contains powerful anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants.
Natural compounds such as phenols and caffeine in green tea and coffee can lower cholesterol, improve blood flow, and change insulin sensitivity and its production.
The study’s authors wrote:
“This prospective cohort study demonstrated that greater consumption of green tea and coffee was significantly associated with reduced all-cause mortality: the effects may be additive.”
The study was published in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care (Komorita et al., 2020).
