Coffee drinkers in a long-term study were about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who didn’t drink coffee,

and researchers think an inflammation-lowering effect of the beverage might be the key.

“Extensive research has revealed that coffee drinking exhibits both beneficial and aggravating health effects,” said Demosthenes B Panagiotakos of the department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Harokopio University in Athens, Greece.

“An inverse relation between coffee intake and diabetes has been reported in many prospective studies whereas some have yielded insignificant results,” Panagiotakos, a co-author of the new study, told Reuters Health by email.