May 1/Boston/Harvard University -- Replacing one can of regular soda a day with one cup of either regular or decaf coffee would lower diabetes risk by 17%, according to researchers.

A recent study by Harvard researchers found that consumption of regular soda is associated with a 24% higher risk of type 2 diabetes than that of those who never drank regular soda. This higher risk was observed with only one can, glass or bottle per day.

The researchers also found that drinking artificially sweetened drinks did not increase the risk. Although there has been association in the past between artificial sweeteners and type 2 diabetes, this can be explained by health status, pre-enrollment weight change, dieting, and body mass index.

In addition, according to the study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, coffee lowers diabetes risk. Replacing one can of regular soda a day with one cup of either regular or decaf coffee would lower diabetes risk by 17%, according to the researchers.

To obtain these results, the researchers followed more than 40,000 healthy men in the “Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.” Over the period from 1986 to 2006, a total of 2,680 individuals developed type 2 diabetes.

 From the May 1, 2012, Prepared Foods’ Daily Update