“I love
coffee, I love tea” is that well known line from Manhattan Transfer’s song,
Java Jive. But we hear from various directions that too much coffee and even
too much tea is bad for us. The threat of caffeine and overstimulation is not
one that I have paid too much attention to, although I have been told to drink
less on several occasions. My suggestion of switching to wine has never gone
down well.
Now
my predilection for a cup of char is being supported by meta-analysis. The new
study is by the InterAct Consortium who have been looking at a very large
number of people and their likelihood of getting Type 2 Diabetes (1).
This
is a pan-European study so it goes across avid tea-drinkers like the English at
4 cups per day to the Spanish who prefer coffee and drink (on average) >1
cups per day. The power of the study was this wide spread in national
proclivities. Previous national studies were constrained to looking at groups
with similar habits.
To
cut to the chase so I can finish this before I have to put the kettle on to
brew another pot, the good news is that ≥4 cups of tea reduces
your risk of type 2 diabetes by 16%.
Unfortunately
there is no mention of cup size per se and cup sizes may also vary across
Europe, but the assumption was that a cup contained 125 g of tea. No mention is
made of milk or lemon or of the order of addition
I’m sticking to my mug and so far type 2
diabetes is still at bay. I do get several calls a week from companies selling
diabetes supplies who are keen to send me a free glucose meter, but I have had
to disappoint them so far.
Now
it’s time for a fresh brew, a Dargeeling/Assam blend with a hint of bergamot
will suit well.
