(NaturalNews) A new study from Harokopio University in Athens, Greece is giving regular coffee drinkers something to cheer about. After studying the coffee drinking habits of more than 1,300 people, the researchers concluded that regular coffee drinkers are 54 percent less likely to suffer from diabetes and inflammatory conditions. Published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the 10-year study praises habitual coffee drinkers (who drink more than 1.5 cups per day).

The study began in 2001 and 2002 when 1,300 men and women at least 18 years old were surveyed based on their diet and coffee drinking habits. Those who drank less than 1.5 cups a day were deemed casual coffee drinkers. This included 816 participants. There were 385 habitual drinkers and a total of 239 who abstained from coffee altogether. Blood tests, measuring protein inflammation markers and antioxidant levels, were conducted on all participants.

By 2012, 13 percent of the men and 12 percent of the women in the study developed diabetes. In all, 191 people developed the metabolic signs of diabetes. When researchers looked at their coffee drinking habits they found that habitual drinkers had a 54 percent lower chance of developing diabetes compared to non-coffee drinkers. The researchers went a step further and ruled out other variables such as family genetics, high blood pressure and smoking habits. When they did, they got the same results. Habitual coffee drinkers were 54 percent less likely to develop diabetes than those who abstained from the drink over a decade.

Coffee consumption correlated with lower inflammatory markers in participants' blood

The study was more than just a general correlation. When the researchers looked at the amyloid inflammatory marker in the participants' blood tests, they found that increased coffee consumption lowered serum amyloid levels. The coffee was bringing down the inflammation in their bodies, reducing the metabolic signals associated with diabetes.

Lead author Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos commented on the study, "Oxidative stress has been shown to accelerate the dysfunction of pancreatic b-cells and antioxidants intake has been shown to decrease diabetes risk, so the antioxidant components of coffee may be beneficial, but still more research is needed toward this direction."

Not all coffee drinks are created equal

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of coffee only go so far, as the researchers pointed out. How coffee is prepared may be more important for determining diabetes risk. Coffee drinks that are loaded with sugar and fat can turn something that's good for the body into something that actively encourages diabetes, weight gain, and acidosis. Coffee drinks like Starbucks Frappuccinos definitely aren't going to reduce a person's diabetes risk. Some of these glorified coffee drinks contain up to 400 percent the recommended daily intake of sugar.

When it comes down to it, not all coffee is created equal, but regular coffee consumption seems to go a long way in the prevention of diabetes.

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