Coffee and diabetics
A recent study out of Duke University found that caffeine increases blood sugar levels in diabetics who regularly drink coffee--even though caffeine contains no sugar or calories. A related study done by Dr. Jennie Brand at the Glycemic Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, found that drinking a single cup of coffee before a high-carbohydrate meal significantly increased the post-meal increase in blood sugar.
These findings are suprising because coffee contains no calories and has a glycemic index of 0. It should not affect blood sugar--or so we always thought. But clearly there is something in caffeinated coffee that affects the body's blood sugar regulation. When you think about it, though, it makes sense. Caffeine is a stimulant that operates along the same neurochemical pathways that kick in when we are stressed or frightened (the so-called fight-or-flight response). The fight-or flight response causes a rise in blood sugar, presumably to fuel a quick get-away. Why wouldn't caffeine do the same thing?
The problem is that diabetics are not being educated to avoid caffeine or other stimulants as part of their blood-sugar control regimen. Diabetics, because of difficulty regulating blood sugar levels, are also likely to experience fatigue--and reach for that cup of java.
If you're diabetic and consume a lot of caffeine, you may want to take this new (although still preliminary) research into consideration, especially if your blood sugar levels are not well-controlled. As it happens, I decaffeinated last summer. Here are some tips:
1. Don't go cold-turkey. I tapered off my caffeine consumption gradually, by mixing decaf coffee beans in with the regular ones. Each week I made the mix a little heavier on the decaf until it was 100% decaf.
2. Limit consumption of decaf. Even though I now drink decaf coffee, I still keep it to 2 mugs a day (most days). Even decaf has a small amount of caffeine.
3. Herbal tea or green tea make a good antioxidant rich substitute when you're craving a hot beverage.
4. Replace your coffee break with an oxygen break. For a quick boost of energy, do one to two minutes of deep breathing. Try it. It really works!
5. Move around. You can instantly increase your alertness by getting up, stretching, or walking briskly--even for one or two minutes.
Anyone else have good tips?
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Posted by: tina | May 10, 2009 6:29:28 PM
I found out accidently that caffeine raises my blood sugar level. I checked my sugar one morning, it was 130, fasting. I had a cup of coffee, no sugar, just some creamer and checked my sugar 30 minutes after the coffee, 188! I was amazed. The next morning, I did it again but with decaf. I was 117 fasting and 132 after the decaf, only 15 points. So, end of the story, got to give up the caffeine. I know that decaf has a little in it, 3% I believe so I have just the decaf in the morning and lots of water thereafter. I'm interested to see where this goes with my sugar levels.
Posted by: Sie Whange | Sep 15, 2008 6:40:38 AM
Coffee is not good for diabetics.I think drinking a single cup of coffee before a high-carbohydrate meal significantly increased the post-meal increase in blood sugar.
http://www.yishanteashop.com/
Posted by: Amanda | Aug 4, 2008 12:07:42 AM
Dear Monica,
I am interested in the field of Nutrition -especially diesease prevention and inflamation control through diet. The RD route is not for me and due to the fact that I work full time I would like to obtain a degree on-line-at least to start. Can you recommend a good online program? I have done some research on this but I would like to hear more from an expert.
Thank you!
Amanda
Posted by: arlene corwin | May 3, 2008 5:07:18 AM
My goodness, this seems to be the nutrition site I've been looking for all my life. All I did was ask for the vitamin A content in one dried apricot and seemed to gotten a gold mine instead.
Posted by: jpatti | Mar 12, 2008 9:55:21 AM
I'm diabetic and test my blood glucose 10-12 times a day. I've never noticed an increase in bg from coffee, whether regular or decaf.
A while back, I switched to decaf because of non-diabetes endocrine issues and I didn't notice a drop at all.
I've heard this has been reported before, but no one on the diabetes newsgroups and web boards has ever seemed to see the effect.
I suspect the research is confusing the Dawn Phenomenon with coffee consumption. Because cortisol increases before we wake up, blood glucose rises... in both diabetics and nondiabetics. Nearly everyone's blood glucose is higher after breakfast than after lunch and dinner. You can check this out at this study of non-diabetic blood glucose measurements.
I suspect if you convinced a bunch of study participants to drink decaf at breakfast and drink real coffee at dinner, you'd find the higher rise was correlated to breakfast rather than caffeine.
I think the participants in such a study would be pretty unhappy too! ;)
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Feb 12, 2008 10:49:39 AM
Margaret,
a good question, and one I'll tackle in an upcoming post.
Posted by: Margaret | Feb 11, 2008 3:18:39 PM
This seems to conflict with recent information that coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of diabetes. What are we to believe?
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Feb 11, 2008 2:21:01 PM
Dear Nancy,
I am not a member of the ADA but I certainly support their work.
Although Dieticians and Nutritionists work in the same basic field, they often have different academic and professional backgrounds. R.D.s have a bachelor's degree in dietetics plus a year of supervised training in an institutional setting like a school or hospital. (Many R.D.s go on to pursue graduate studies as well.)
Nutritionists usually have a graduate degree in nutrition science and often work in research rather than clinical settings.
I chose to pursue licensing and board-certification as a nutritionist rather than as an R.D. because it better aligned with my academic traning and professional experience.
As it happens, in my state of Maryland, the license, the same license is required for both dieticians (R.D.s) and nutritionists. We are all LDNs.
Posted by: Nancy Miller | Feb 11, 2008 10:01:17 AM
Monica,
I've been reading your articles and recommending this site to many of my clients. Thank you for your great info. I see that you have a Masters degree in Nutrition but I am curious, however, why you are not a Registered Dietitian. Is there a reason? And do you support the American Dietetic Association? Thanks, Nancy
Posted by: Mike Reeves-McMillan | Feb 7, 2008 2:17:37 PM
This makes a lot of sense of why drinking caffeine gives a feeling of energy - it's not only stimulating the nervous system, it's also lifting blood sugar. Of course, it isn't adding energy, just moving it around - what you have now, you'll not have later.
Your deep breathing and moving around tips are good ones. Basically, anything you can do to use your mind and body to manage your moods and energy, rather than using an external substance, is likely to be a better option. Learning to relax and let go of stress - so that you're not pumping energy into it - will also increase your overall energy levels.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Jan 24, 2008 12:55:55 PM
Grady,
The Duke study used caffeine pills so if you drank enough tea to get the same amount of caffeine in 4-6 cups of coffee (which is A LOT of tea), you would presumably see the same effect. The Australian study used actual coffee so we don't know how much of the effect was the caffeine and how much was something else in the coffee.
