Drink Up: Coffee Cuts Diabetes Risk in Half

coffee-cup-100622-02 — Scientists have yet to determine what compounds are responsible for coffee's weird -but wonderful- health benefits. (Image credit: sxc.hu)

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.

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