Drink Up: Coffee Cuts Diabetes Risk in Half

Scientists have yet to determine what compounds are responsible for coffee's weird -but wonderful- health benefits. CREDIT: sxc.hu View full size image

Our buddies over at MyHealthNewsDaily have some good news today: coffee protects against diabetes.

A new study found that women who drank four cups of coffee per day were 56 percent less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that coffee raises the amount of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in the blood, and higher levels of SHBG are known to lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. They don't know what it is about coffee that boosts SHBG, but previous research has suggested that it's not the work of caffeine alone.

Similar studies suggest that the drink passes on comparable benefits to men, but the link is not as definitive.

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