Drinking coffee lowers diabetes risk, study confirms www.cbc.ca MONTREAL - Drinking coffee may help prevent Type 2 diabetes, according to a large-scale study in Finland, where the coffee consumption is among the highest in the world. The 12-year study of more than 13,000 healthy men and women suggests the more coffee you drink, the greater the protection against Type 2 diabetes.
Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world, and Finns drink more per capita than any other nationality, according to international statistics. The Finnish typically drink filtered coffee with little or no milk, the researchers said. FROM JAN. 9, 2002: Drinking coffee linked to lower diabetes risk: study
Participants filled out a questionnaire on their medical history, socioeconomic factors such as education, physical activity, smoking status, and alcohol, coffee and tea consumption.	Besides caffeine, coffee contains magnesium, potassium and antioxidants that may improve the body's response to insulin
Drinking three to four cups of coffee a day was associated with a 28 per cent reduced risk of diabetes. Drinking 10 cups a day cut the risk by 79 per cent in women and 55 per cent in men. In the study in the March 10 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Jaakko Tuomilehto, of the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, and colleagues don't explain the association, although they suggest something other than caffeine is behind it. "Maybe it has effects at the level of the liver, which might inhibit the liver from producing glucose," said nutrition researcher Dr. Réjeanne Gougeon of the McGill University Health Centre. FROM JAN. 9, 2002: Unhealthy link found between caffeine and diabetes Scientists know caffeine stimulates pancreatic cells to secrete insulin, the body's blood glucose regulator. Since people with Type 2 diabetes do not produce enough insulin, glucose remains in the blood vessels and can eventually cause damage. Marc Aras of Diabetes Quebec worries the study could mislead people into thinking coffee is all that's needed to prevent diabetes. "It's a very complex disease," said Aras. "To avoid something of this complexity, you have to do whatever you have to do in your life and not limit yourself to only one quick fix." It's long been established that good nutrition, weight control and exercise are the best ways to prevent diabetes. The coffee effect might prove to be a healthy bonus from the daily jolt.

Law students protest proposed tuition fee hikes ~ $15,000 a year by 2007.
Lecture boycott organised as a mass vote of non-confidence
TORONTO, March 8 /CNW/ - York University's Osgoode Hall law students will be boycotting their lectures today to protest the rising cost of law school and the current lack of government funding for post-secondary education. Today's protest coincides with the Faculty Council Meeting at which Osgoode Law Dean Patrick Monahan is set to announce his decision to increase tuition fees to an astounding $15,000 a year by 2007.
At law schools across Ontario, tuition fees have increased dramatically as a result of deep federal and provincial funding cuts to education and the introduction of differential fees for professional programmes. Tuition fees at Osgoode Hall have spiked in recent years - from $2,935 in 1996 to $12,000 in 2003. If the Dean's proposal to increase fees to $15,000 in 2007-2008 is implemented, tuition fees will have increased more than five fold in less than ten years.
"Increasing financial barriers to law school runs counter to the Osgoode reputation for promoting diversity," said Andy Astritis, a third-year Osgoode law student. "Forcing law students into massive debt undermines the ability of graduates to practice public interest law - for those of us who don't go to work on Bay Street, I'm afraid to think of how we will make our monthly payments."
Dean Monahan is racing to put through his proposal prior to receiving the results of an accessibility survey due in summer 2004. Moreover, the current threat to access has coincided with declining quality, as services cuts have continued to plague many law programmes. "Increasing tuition fees will not make Osgoode more competitive," said law student Dorian Persaud. "It only serves to download government funding responsibilities onto students."
"This proposal disregards the Ontario government's commitment to freeze tuition fees for two years, during which time they have promised to re-examine the current funding structure for Ontario's universities," said Joel Duff, Ontario Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Dean Monahan should be at the table with students and government, helping to re-shape education funding in Ontario, instead he is calling for a return to Tory-style governance."
Osgoode law students have organised today's academic strike as a mass vote of non-confidence in Dean Monahan's proposal. This action has been endorsed by over 500 students, faculty and supporters. A petition calling on the Federal government to restore funding for education was also circulated and will be presented to the Federal Government.
For further information: visit: www.osgoodenonconfidence.com;