Researchers investigated the benefits of a genetic predisposition to high blood caffeine levels. They found that those with higher levels are linked to reduced body fat and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. But further studies are needed to confirm the findings.
Higher Blood Caffeine Levels Associated With Lower Body Fat and Type 2 Diabetes, Study Suggests
Potential Role of Calorie-free Caffeinated Drinks
A 2016 paper revealed that caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive chemical on the planet. Coffee, tea, and soft drinks are the most common caffeine sources.
Caffeine consumption has been associated with weight reduction, lowered body mass index (BMI), and fat mass in several studies. Its use may thereby reduce the risk of illnesses associated with being overweight or obese, such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Caffeine's contribution to these advantages, however, is uncertain. According to one study, each additional cup of caffeinated coffee eaten per day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 7%, while each cup of decaffeinated coffee reduces the risk by 6%.
Knowing how caffeine consumption impacts the development of cardiometabolic disorders may contribute to the development of dietary recommendations to lower their risk, Medical News Today reports.
Researchers have looked at the influence of genetic susceptibility to increased caffeine levels in the blood and discovered that a genetic proclivity for greater caffeine levels in the blood is associated with a decreased incidence of type 2 diabetes.
The findings of the study, titled "Appraisal of the Causal Effect of Plasma Caffeine on Adiposity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease: Two Sample Mendelian Randomisation Study," is published in the journal BMJ Medicine.
According to the researchers, the potential impact of calorie-free caffeinated drinks in decreasing the risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes is now worth investigating.
Previous studies suggest that consuming 3-5 cups of coffee per day, a rich source of caffeine, is connected with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A typical cup of coffee has roughly 70-150 mg of caffeine.
However, the majority of published research so far has included observational studies, which cannot reliably prove causal effects due to the other potentially relevant elements involved.
READ ALSO: Drinking 3 to 4 Cups of Coffee a Day Could Cut Risk of Liver Cancer, Study Says
Role of Genetics in Having Higher Blood Caffeine Levels
It is challenging to disentangle specific effects of caffeine from other compounds of a caffeinated drink or food. SciTech Daily reports that researchers used Mendelian randomization to determine the effect of higher blood caffeine levels on body fat and long-term risks of type 2 diabetes as well as major cardiovascular diseases.
Mendelian randomization is a strategy that employs genetic variations as proxies for a certain risk factor to get genetic evidence in favor of a specific outcome.
The researchers investigated the effect of two common genetic variations of the CYP1A2 and AHR genes, which are linked to the rate at which caffeine is metabolized in the body, in approximately 10,000 persons of primarily European ancestry who took part in six long-term studies.
Individuals who have genetic variations associated with slower caffeine metabolism consume less coffee on average but have greater amounts of caffeine in their blood than persons who metabolize it rapidly enough to achieve or maintain the levels necessary for its stimulating effects.
The study's findings revealed that greater genetically predicted blood caffeine levels were connected with reduced body mass index (BMI) and body fat. A decreased risk of type 2 diabetes was also connected with higher genetically predicted blood caffeine levels.
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