Coffee drinking has been linked with a reduced risk of diabetes, and now Chinese researchers think they may know why.

Studies said that people who drink four or more cups of coffee daily have a 50 percent lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Another reason to love your coffee!

How does it lower your chance of diabetes?

”We found three major coffee compounds can reverse this toxic process and may explain why coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes,” says researcher Kun Huang, PhD, a professor of biological pharmacy at the Huazhong University of Science & Technology.

The study results show that decaf coffee works, too, to reduce the risk.  In patients who already have diabetes, decaf is better for them than regular coffee.

“We expect that decaffeinated coffee has at least equal or even higher beneficial effect compared to the regular caffeinated types,” Huang says.

The National Basic Research Program of China, the Natural Science Foundation of China, and other non-industry sources funded the research.