According to a study, having high levels of caffeine in your blood may minimize the amount of body fat you carry and your risk of type 2 diabetes.
The findings could lead to the use of calorie-free caffeinated drinks to lower obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to the researchers, who published their findings in the journal BMJ Medicine.
Caffeine Intake
Dr. Katarina Kos, a senior lecturer in diabetes and obesity at the University of Exeter, said the study demonstrated potential health benefits for patients who had high caffeine levels in their blood.
According to the researchers, the potential significance of calorie-free caffeinated drinks in lowering the risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes is worth investigating.
It comes after previous studies found that drinking three to five cups of coffee, a high source of caffeine, per day is related to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
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Mendelian Randomization
To circumvent this, the researchers utilized Mendelian randomization to determine the effect of increased blood caffeine levels on body fat and the long-term risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Mendelian randomization is a technique that employs genetic variants to stand in for a certain risk factor – in this case, caffeine levels in the blood – in order to acquire genetic evidence in support of a specific outcome – in this case, BMI and type 2 diabetes risk.
The CYP1A2 and AHR genes are linked to the rate at which caffeine is metabolized in the body.
Individuals with genetic variations associated with slower caffeine metabolism consume less coffee on average but have higher amounts of caffeine in their blood than those who metabolize it rapidly enough to achieve or maintain the levels required for its stimulant effects.
A decreased risk of type 2 diabetes was also connected with higher genetically predicted blood caffeine levels. The Stockholm team then employed Mendelian randomization to investigate whether any effect of coffee on type 2 diabetes risk was primarily driven by concurrent weight loss.
Weight loss was found to be responsible for nearly half (43%) of the effect of coffee on type 2 diabetes risk. However, no significant relationships were found between genetically predicted blood caffeine levels and the risk of any of the cardiovascular disease outcomes evaluated.
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