Recent research has shown that regularly drinking tea and coffee may help stave off diabetes. According to the research, tea and coffee drinkers have a considerbly lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes, whether their chosen brew is decaffeinated or otherwise.

A total of 18 separate studies involving no less than 500,000 people revealed that those who regularly drink 3 or 4 cups of tea or coffee a day reduce their risk of developing diabetes by 20% or more. And the greatest benefit was gained by those who preferred their daily cuppas to be decaffeinated – reducing their risk of developing diabetes by a third, with each additional cuppa reducing the risk yet further.

The research has shown that the beneficial effects of tea and coffee drinking are unlikely to be related to caffeine, but more likely to be related to other compounds in tea and coffee which include magnesium and antioxidants known as lignans.

Dr Rachel Huxley from the University of Sydney in Australia, said: “The identification of the active components of these beverages would open up new therapeutic pathways for the primary prevention of diabetes mellitus.

“If such beneficial effects observed in interventional trials were to be real, the implications for the millions of individuals who have diabetes mellitus, or who are at future risk of developing it, would be substantial.”

Dr Victoria King, of Diabetes UK, said: “Without full information about what other factors may be influencing the type 2 diabetes risk of the studies’ participants – such as their physical activity levels and diet – as well as what the active ingredient in tea or coffee appears to be, we cannot be sure what, if anything, this observed effect is down to.

“What we can be sure of is that the development of type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to lifestyle, which means that many cases could be prevented by keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet that is low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables.”

Type 2 Diabetes generally begins after the age of 40 as a result of the body being unable to produce sufficient insulin, or as a result of insulin resistance whereby the body continues to produce insulin but the cells fail to use that insulin effectively.

The very best way of anyone in their Third Age staving off the onset of type 2 diabetes remains the same: keeping active, eating a healthy, balance diet and not gaining excessive weight.