“Drinking 4 cups of coffee, decaf, or tea daily can reduce the chances of getting type 2 diabetes by about 25 percent to 35 percent.”

That’s usually 6 ounce cups, that’s Harvard University data, and that’s almost 500,000 people…though a “small study.” Nonsense.

Chalk another one up for the convergence of food-is-medicine, the medical literature, and real food. The green movement and the local food movements are close behind.

And conventional medicine is finally catching up to patients. This week alone we’ve seen:

1. a glowing review of “an up-to-date nutrition reference text that physicians, particularly family practice physicians, should have on their bookshelves” …about food that can help prevent and control disease (more books on culinary medicine).

2. a JAMA caution about artificial sweeteners (saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, sucralose). A pediatrician calls them an “inadvertent public health experiment”, citing 2009 adult data showing a 67% greater risk for type 2 diabetes with daily diet soda. Just one daily.

3. Chefs beginning to think about the flavors of street food and their own health in the same taco.

Of course, a low carb, low glycemic load, higher monounsaturated fat, plant-based diet with fewer calories and directed, guided, sustained muscle cell build up to amass insulin receptors is best for most people trying to prevent and control type II diabetes.

Maybe it’s the magnesium, lignans, and chlorogenic acids in coffee; maybe it’s tea catechins which lower sugar production; maybe caffeine has something to do with it.

But the take-out point? Food works. Get the right stuff.

If coffee or tea were FDA improved, there would be a run on doctors’ offices and pharmacies. Caution if you’re addicted, have a heart arrhythmia, or have an anxiety disorder. Otherwise, enjoy.