According to studies, people with type 2 diabetes should switch from sugary beverages to coffee, tea, and water to lower their risk of dying early by roughly 25%.
Data from 15,486 persons with type 2 diabetes were examined by experts, including those from Harvard Medical School in the US. 74% of these individuals were women, and they were on average 61 years old.
Type 2 Diabetes in the US
The Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study in the United States included roughly 15,500 adults with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
The study, which was published on Wednesday in the journal BMJ, examined the dietary data of these participants.
In the surveys, women made up about 75% of the respondents, and their average age was 61. Participants provided information on their intake of eight different types of beverages, including coffee, fruit juice, low-fat and whole milk, plain water, tea, and artificially sweetened drinks, every two to four years for an average of 18 years.
The study found that higher consumption of coffee, tea, water, and low-fat milk was linked to a lower death rate when compared to lower consumption.
Drinking coffee reduced the risk of premature death by 26%, tea by 21%, plain water by 23%, and low-fat milk by 12%.
According to the data, those who drank the most sugar-sweetened beverages had a 20% higher risk of passing away from any cause than those who drank the least.
The study discovered a 29% increase in cardiovascular-related deaths, such as heart attacks.
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Coffee and Sugar-Free Drinks Lower Mortality Risk
For those who were devoted consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages prior to receiving a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, there was some positive news.
The chance of an early death dramatically decreased when those sweet drinks were swapped out for coffee or artificial, calorie-free beverages after the diagnosis, the study revealed.
There was a decreased risk of heart disease and all-cause mortality when coffee, tea, plain water, and low-fat milk were substituted for sugar-sweetened and artificially calorie-free beverages.