3 surprising ways to help dodge diabetes

When Agatha Christie's play “Black Coffee” debuted, reviewers found the antics of her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, were “neither a strong stimulant nor a powerful enemy of sleep.” Seven decades later, a stiff cuppa Joe has earned greater respect: It actually has Herculean powers.

We've been saying for years that a filtered cup has blood-vessel-loving, brain-enhancing, headache-defeating powers and more! And now we know sipping four cups of coffee throughout the day reduces your risk for type 2 diabetes by 50 percent. How does coffee do that? Turns out, it's more than the caffeine that fends off high blood sugar; other chemicals in the brew stop damage to the building blocks of diabetes-preventing proteins. True, coffee can have side effects: anxiety, migraine headaches, abnormal heartbeats, gastric upset. If you get these, cut back on the Joe so the risks don't outweigh the benefits.

Another way to fight type 2: SLEEP! So don't drink that coffee late! Just three weeks of inadequate sleep slows your metabolism and decreases insulin secretion (the hormone that controls blood sugar). That's a formula for diabetes. What you need: seven to eight hours a night, every night, and be consistent with your bedtime.

The third smart step around diabetes: Eliminate products made with hormone-disrupting, diabetes-triggering phthalates. The worst offender is dibutyl phthalate (DBP), also ID'd as “butyl ester” or “plasticizer.” How to avoid? It's in cosmetics and nail polish, kids' toys and more. If there isn't an ingredient label telling you it's phthalates-free, pass it by.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Medical Officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. For more information go to www.RealAge.com.