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Can regular coffee prevent diabetes?

Published: 2026-04-29 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/04/29, It is reported that, as a panacea to start our day in the morning, many studies have shown that it may play a role in the fight against type 2 diabetes. However, at present, no one knows its mechanism. Now, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a possible molecular mechanism for the protective effects of coffee. A protein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)

It is reported that coffee, as a panacea to start our day in the morning, many studies have shown that it may play a role in the fight against type 2 diabetes. However, at present, no one knows its mechanism.

Now, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a possible molecular mechanism for the protective effects of coffee. A protein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) regulates the biological activity of organic sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen), which have always been considered to play an important role in the progression of type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that coffee can increase plasma SHBG levels.

Women who drank at least four cups of coffee a day were half as likely to develop diabetes as women who did not drink coffee, according to Diabetes magazine. The researchers said that after correcting SHBG levels, its protective effect disappeared.

Early studies have shown that there has been a "negative correlation" between coffee consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes. In other words, the greater the coffee consumption, the lower the risk of diabetes. In the past, it was believed that coffee can improve glucose tolerance by increasing metabolism or improving insulin tolerance.

Although it is known that the protein SHBG is an early key target for assessing the risk and prevention of diabetes, the exact mechanism is not clear.

Previous studies have found that two mutations in the SHBG coding gene and their effects on the risk of type 2 diabetes, one mutation increases the risk of diabetes and the other reduces it, depending on the level of SHBG in the blood.

A large clinical study shows that sex hormones play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes. It is known that SHBG not only regulates bioactive sex hormones, but also binds to various cellular receptors to directly regulate sex hormone signals.

Blood SHBG levels seem to reflect the genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. Now they further suggest that dietary factors such as coffee intake affect the protein, and that it affects the risk of diabetes-the lower the SHBG level, the higher the unknown risk of diabetes.

The study included 359 patients with new-onset diabetes and 359 healthy controls matched for their age and race. These controls came from nearly 40000 women recruited in the Women's Health study, a large cardiovascular trial originally designed to assess the benefits and risks of low-dose aspirin and vitamin E in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The study found that women who drank four cups of coffee a day had significantly higher SHBG levels and a 56 per cent lower risk of diabetes than women who did not drink coffee, and those who carried copies of the protective SHBG gene benefited the most from coffee consumption.

When the researchers controlled blood SHBG levels, the risk associated with coffee consumption was not significantly reduced. This suggests that SHBG can play a regulatory role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Micro Health Network reminds: whether coffee can prevent diabetes, the more specific reasons still need to be studied, in daily life might as well coffee as afternoon tea, or usual drinks to enjoy is also possible. For more articles about diabetes, the editor recommends: three foods that diabetics should never eat more.

Source: vivijk Micro Health Network

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