If your first thought in the morning is to brew up a coffee it might be doing much more than helping you wake up.
Scientists have found coffee, in moderation, could prevent one of the most prevalent diseases in western society.
Coffee gets a bit of a raw deal, with punters split over its health properties.
But things might be looking up for the brown brew, with nine new studies undertaken over 15 years showing it helps to prevent type two diabetes.
"It's absolutely remarkable that something as simple as drinking five cups of coffee a day would reduce your risk of type two diabetes by between 30 and 50%, it's undoubted that this occurs," says Dr Peter Clifton, CSIRO scientist.
But scientists are not sure exactly why it helps.
The theory is that there is a yet to be identified compound in coffee which regulates the body's glucose levels.
"What the coffee does is make the body more sensitive to the insulin so the pancreas doesn't have to work as hard and also it helps the pancreas to release insulin," Clifton says.
But for all the coffee addicts out there, this latest research should be tempered with some caution as there is some evidence to suggest that drinking more than six cups of coffee a day may increase your risk of heart disease
Scientists say to get maximum benefit stick to five cups a day, even if its instant, and if in doubt stick to the old mantra of everything in moderation.
