Coffee is seen at the Viennese coffee house (Wiener Kaffeehaus) Central in Vienna November 10, 2011.
Coffee is seen at the Viennese coffee house (Wiener Kaffeehaus) Central in Vienna November 10, 2011. Reuters

Coffee drinkers all over the globe can rejoice! There is now a scientifically valid reason to rush to your nearest cafe. Recent studies have indicated that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes can be averted by drinking at least three cups of coffee a day. This news is certainly cause enough for coffee drinkers to break out into a little caffeine-induced jig. Coffee is known to have a few biological and chemical compounds that may prove to be effective in reducing risk of diabetes.

One of the studies conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health revealed that, participants of the study who increased their coffee intake to more than one cup of coffee per day, had a consequently reduced risk of 11 percent of developing type 2 diabetes. The researchers measured the consumption of coffee among participants every four years and noticed that any increase in the amount of coffee consumed by participants within the four years resulted in lowered risk of developing diabetes among participants, for the following four years.

Another study conducted by Chinese researchers suggests that coffee has three major compounds that may be related to decreasing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes among those who consume more than one cup of coffee on a regular basis. However, the authors of both studies have cautioned that consumption of coffee should not be increased to extreme levels and that a healthy diet and some exercise should be part of the regimen.

In an ideal world, one would wish to skip the gym and head straight to the local Starbucks for the nirvana of perfect health; sadly there are no shortcuts when it comes to keeping fit, as of yet. One can keep hoping though that someday, scientists may find a solid link between an increase in the consumption of cafe leading to a reduced risk of developing some debilitating disorder. Until then however, it would be safer to stick to the age old, tried and tested concept of eating healthy and working out, with an extra dose of coffee of course!