A UCLA School of Public Health study that examined 359 diabetes patients and 359 healthy controls of similar age and race selected from the database of nearly 400,000 women enrolled in a large scale Women’s Health Study, reported in the journal Diabetes, has discovered a molecular protective mechanism in coffee that can reduce the likelihood of diabetes developing in women.
The researchers found that compounds in brewed coffee increase the level of the sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) protein. The report showed that increased amounts of SHBG in plasma are linked to a reduction in the chances of contracting diabetes.
The study found that women drinking a minimum of four cups of coffee daily were over 50% less likely to develop diabetes than non-coffee drinkers.
This most recent study adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests that drinking coffee decreases the risk of getting diabetes.