The other day at work, we got to talking about foods which promote fitness and Larry mentioned that he had read a new study about caffeine. He didn’t go into it much at the time, but I was curious since I gingerly sip caffeine every morning (tea — Earl Grey — hot). So, later that day, I went to see what I could find at the Health section of Google News.
Sure enough, researchers at Duke University did a study of caffeine’s effect on blood sugar levels. They tested 14 people with type 2 diabetes and discovered that large doses of caffeine can cause blood sugar levels to climb:
The study showed that caffeine had little effect on glucose and insulin levels during the fasting period, but it caused significant surges after eating a meal. People who received the 375-milligram dose of caffeine experienced a 21% larger increase in glucose levels and a 48% larger increase in insulin levels compared with those who took the placebo during the two hours following their meals.
“It seems that caffeine, by further impairing the metabolism of meals, is something diabetics ought to consider avoiding. Some people already watch their diet and exercise regularly,” says Lane. “Avoiding caffeine might be another way to better manage their disease. In fact, it’s possible that staying away from caffeine could provide bigger benefits altogether.” […]
It’s not that caffeine creates blood sugar, but it seems to aggravate blood sugar levels when consumed with a high-carbohydrate meal. So, I may be out of the woods on this one — I generally have a mid-carb breakfast of diced apples with cottage cheese (+ cinnamon + Splenda) but I drink my tea about an hour after I eat breakfast. With any luck, most of my breakfast-based blood sugars would have been metabolized by then.
they tested 14 people? I hardly think that their results can be representative or statistically significant. . .
Cheers,
Adrian
Yeah, that is a good point there — you’d think researchers would test more that 14 people for… well, just about any study ://
caffeine=bad…I’ve said it for years. I personally gave the stuff up completely 11 years ago. It makes life a lot easier when you’re not addicted to that “first cup of coffee” or the diet coke that you just have to have to get going in the morning. :)
Hmm, and I have a problem with *low* blood sugar – I wonder if caffeine is actually beneficial to me in this way? :)
can high blood suar levels increase alcohol levels in the body.
I just found this to be true for me. I have gestational diabetes and have been monitoring my blood sugar levels. Although I avoid caffine most of the time I have had coffee twice with breakfast and both times it made my blood sugar much higher than it is normally. That’s why I was here trying to find out if I was crazy or if the coffee really did make it go up. Now, I know to avoid it ALL the time. Thanks for the info.
utter tosh
I have type 2 and a blood meter
for testing
with no caffeine ,I get up ,measure 70 as my sugar level and exercise for 60 minutes
with no breakfast or glyburide
my sugar rises to 120
the next day ,same routine; but I take a green tea tablet(about one coffee’s worth of caffeine)
now my sugar rises to 87..
if I take too much caffeine the effect is lost