Green Tea, Coffee, and Diabetes
Authors: Luca Mascitelli, Francesca Pezzetta
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2006)

Letters17 October 2006Green Tea, Coffee, and DiabetesLuca Mascitelli, MD and Francesca Pezzetta, MDLuca Mascitelli, MDFrom Comando Brigata Alpina “Julia”, San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy.Search for more papers by this author and Francesca Pezzetta, MDFrom Comando Brigata Alpina “Julia”, San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-145-8-200610170-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR: Iso and colleagues (1) found significant and inverse associations between green tea and coffee consumption and the risk for type 2 diabetes. We suggest that some of the mechanisms involved in this beneficial association might be related to the reduced iron absorption induced by tea and coffee. These beverages have been shown to strongly inhibit the absorption of nonheme iron (2–4). On the other hand, serum ferritin, a good indicator of iron stored in the body, has been shown to be associated with an increased risk for diabetes (5). Furthermore, a small intervention study in patients with ...References1. Iso H, Date C, Wakai K, Fukui M, Tamakoshi A. The relationship between green tea and total caffeine intake and risk for self-reported type 2 diabetes among Japanese adults. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:554-62. [PMID: 16618952] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Morck TA, Lynch SR, Cook JD. Inhibition of food iron absorption by coffee. Am J Clin Nutr. 1983;37:416-20. [PMID: 6402915] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Hallberg L, Hulthen L. Prediction of dietary iron absorption: an algorithm for calculating absorption and bioavailability of dietary iron. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;71:1147-60. [PMID: 10799377] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Samman S, Sandstrom B, Toft MB, Bukhave K, Jensen M, Sorensen SS, et al. Green tea or rosemary extract added to foods reduces nonheme-iron absorption. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001;73:607-12. [PMID: 11237939] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Jiang R, Manson JE, Meigs JB, Ma J, Rifai N, Hu FB. Body iron stores in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in apparently healthy women. JAMA. 2004;291:711-7. [PMID: 14871914] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Fernandez-Real JM, Penarroja G, Castro A, Garcia-Bragado F, Hernandez-Aguado I, Ricart W. Blood letting in high-ferritin type 2 diabetes: effects on insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function. Diabetes. 2002;51:1000-4. [PMID: 11916918] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Luca Mascitelli, MD; Francesca Pezzetta, MDAffiliations: From Comando Brigata Alpina “Julia”, San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Relationship between Green Tea and Total Caffeine Intake and Risk for Self-Reported Type 2 Diabetes among Japanese Adults Hiroyasu Iso , Chigusa Date , Kenji Wakai , Mitsuru Fukui , and Akiko Tamakoshi , and the JACC Study Group*Green Tea, Coffee, and Diabetes Rob M. van Dam Green Tea, Coffee, and Diabetes Hiroyasu Iso Correction: Patients' Global Ratings of Their Health Care Are Not Associated with the Technical Quality of Their CareGreen Tea, Coffee, and Diabetes Tsung O. Cheng Green Tea, Coffee, and Diabetes Ruoling Chen Metrics Cited byThe histopathological and biochemical effects of green tea extract on the liver of high-fat diet and streptozotocin diabetic female rats 17 October 2006Volume 145, Issue 8 Page: 634 Keywords Attention Beverages Coffee Conflicts of interest Ferritin Insulin resistance Serum ferritin levels Tea Type 2 diabetes ePublished: 17 October 2006 Issue Published: 17 October 2006 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2006 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...