Coffee is Not the Bad Guy for Diabetics — It’s the Caffeine
Many studies have shown that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. But what is in coffee that lowers this risk? Researchers aren’t sure what is in coffee that lowers blood sugar levels. However they do know that it’s not the caffeine.
In a recent study, researchers examined the effects of caffeine on 10 patients with type 2 diabetes. These patients were already regular coffee drinkers and they were trying to manage their diabetes without using insulin. The patients were asked not to drink coffee during the study.
On various days the patients took either a 250 mg caffeine capsule or a placebo capsule with no caffeine and it. They took these pills at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When the patients ingested the caffeine capsules they had an average increase in blood sugar of 9% after breakfast, 15% after lunch and 26% after dinner.
Based on the data it is suggested that people with diabetes, or on the verge of diabetes, probably shouldn’t drink caffeinated soft drinks or other caffeine-containing beverages. If you do like to drink your coffee, you should maybe consider switching to decaf and see if that helps in managing your blood sugar levels.
Tags: blood sugar, caffeine, coffee, diabetes, type 2 diabetesRelated posts
