Coffee improves insulin sensitivity and prevents high blood sugar in mice.

Here's one more reason to fire up a cup of coffee...

A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry indicates that coffee may guard against diabetes. The research shows that coffee improves insulin sensitivity and prevents the development of high blood sugar - on lab mice.

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If you think you've got déjà vu, it may be because numerous studies have indicated that coffee, both with caffeine and without, can be beneficial not only for those at risk for diabetes, but for those with other troubles including Alzheimers, dementia and prostate cancer.

Click here to read how USF researchers believe coffee can help prevent Alzheimers.

And then there was that analysis of 18 studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, in 2004, which found that research subjects who threw down four cups a day had a 25-35 percent lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Pretty convincing stuff.

Yet before many doctors will feel comfortable actually calling coffee a health food, the beneficial compounds in the hot stuff will have to be nailed down.

It could be the caffeine, researchers say, but it could also be the antioxidants, potassium and magnesium found in coffee. Researchers conclude that more research is needed.

And the Mayo clinic website recommends exercise and a healthy diet to guard against diabetes - not a trip to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.