Cutting Caffeine May Help Control Diabetes
January 29, 2008
Digg This! | Send to Newsvine | Add to del.icio.usJanuary 29, 2008 (EurekAlert) - Daily consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea or soft drinks increases blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes and may undermine efforts to control their disease, say scientists at Duke University Medical Center.
Researchers used new technology that measured participants’ glucose (sugar) levels on a constant basis throughout the day. Dr. James Lane, a psychologist at Duke and the lead author of the study, says it represents the first time researchers have been able to track the impact of caffeine consumption as patients go about their normal, everyday lives.
The findings, appearing in the February issue of Diabetes Care, add more weight to a growing body of research suggesting that eliminating caffeine from the diet might be a good way to manage blood sugar levels.
Lane studied 10 patients with established type 2 diabetes and who drank at least two cups of coffee every day and who were trying to manage their disease through diet, exercise and oral medications, but no extra insulin. Each had a tiny glucose monitor embedded under their abdominal skin that continuously monitored their glucose levels over a 72-hour period.
Participants took capsules containing caffeine equal to about four cups of coffee on one day and then identical capsules that contained a placebo on another day. Everyone had the same nutrition drink for breakfast, but were free to eat whatever they liked for lunch and dinner.
The researchers found that when the participants consumed caffeine, their average daily sugar levels went up 8 per cent. Caffeine also exaggerated the rise in glucose after meals: increasing by 9 percent after breakfast, 15 percent after lunch and 26 per cent after dinner.
“We’re not sure what it is about caffeine that drives glucose levels up, but we have a couple of theories,” says Lane, who is the lead author of the study. “It could be that caffeine interferes with the process that moves glucose from the blood and into muscle and other cells in the body where it is used for fuel. It may also be that caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline – the ‘fight or flight” hormone that we know can also boost sugar levels.”
Either way, he says, the higher sugar levels that result from caffeine are bad news for diabetic patients.
There are no current guidelines suggesting diabetics shouldn’t drink coffee, but Lane says that day may come, if further studies bear out their findings.
“Coffee is such a common drink in our society that we forget that it contains a very powerful drug – caffeine. Our study suggests that one way to lower blood sugar is to simply quit drinking coffee, or any other caffeinated beverages. It may not be easy, but it doesn’t cost a dime, and there are no side effects,” Lane says.
Posted by dlife at January 29, 2008 01:56 PM
Comments
hi i have been taking the greenteahp to lose weight . it does have a little caffeine in it
and a artifical sweetener. i see a lot of results
weight loss beautiful skin and younger looking
hope i can continue using this product ....
has anyone else tried this ...
Posted by: esther at March 13, 2008 08:18 PM
I drink one cup of decaffinated coffee a day. I do drink lots of tea. Is tea bad for me? It's my favorite drink. Must I give it up? I have just been diagnosed Type 2.
Posted by: Beulah Hansen at February 12, 2008 04:55 AM
Thank goodness I was never a big coffee drinker. Definitely will cut out the diet drinks.
Posted by: Candy Adams at February 11, 2008 01:32 PM
Coffee is a pleasure many of us who are diabetic enjoy daily. To me very few if any non-caffeinated coffees have the taste & enjoyment of those that are caffeinated. On a non-scientific basis I have tried having a normal day with & without drinking coffee & testing my glucose levels three times daily. I have found that carb. intake much more greatly affects my glucose than drinking or not drinking caffeinated coffee. Additionally I find that drinking two or three cups of coffee helps me control carbs.
My physician tells me in my efforts to exercise & diet that utilizing some coffee to help should be no great problem or concern.
My feelings are your study was "too" controlled using supplements & pills & did not properly represent what we "normal" type 2 diabetics do daily in diet.
I look forward to further study on this. But correctly done & following a regimen like those of us who try hard to keep our glucose in control.
Posted by: W at February 7, 2008 09:13 AM
this is first time i've heard about coffee being bad for type two diabetes, & read it at dlife. My coment is this ; did those trials that were run all drink black coffee? some have sugar,cream other added flavors? how close were the people monitored ? I just drink black Folgers , 1 cup per day, also not every day. Thanks Beverly
Posted by: Beverly at February 6, 2008 05:54 PM
I guess a diabetic can't have anything good - so what's the use of living.
Posted by: Arline Handin at February 5, 2008 10:14 PM
Other medical reports of this "news," denounce the study as too small (10 patients is no basis for a press release), too short in duration, and too unstructured. dlife.com has failed to provide a balanced perspective by offering differing opinions.
Posted by: Peter Pehrson at February 5, 2008 07:45 PM
I would be interested to know if the same result occurs in Type 1 diabetics. Does anyone know??
Posted by: Tanya Conovaloff at February 5, 2008 05:12 PM
Well...shoot! This totally sucks rocks! I usually have about 5 cups of coffee a day easily. And I really LOVE good quality coffee...which is all I drink. Giving up candy bars on any sort of semi regular basis was easy....but giving up my coffee is going to be a royal bummer!
Posted by: Laura at February 5, 2008 03:12 PM
This makes sense to me, as caffeine has been shown to be a negative factor in many diet concerns, as well as other medical concerns. I am going to try giving up the caffiene, and see how much it helps my blood glucose levels. Thank you for this article.
Posted by: Victoria Sonnenberg at February 5, 2008 02:11 PM
I appreciated learning this. Thanks for your correspondence. However my body does not seem to respond to this caffeine effect on the glucose.
I am in my fourth year of type 2, age 73, on oral meds, keep carbs around 100 gm/day, walk 2-4 miles. An adherant of Dr. Bernstein's advice, easily got my weight wo within the normal BMI guidelines, and after a few setbacks, maintain 90-100 glucose levels and A1c typically 5.2-5.6. This along with at least 8-10 cups of regular Starbucks strong coffee!
Posted by: Don Godwin at February 5, 2008 01:59 PM
I am assuming that drinking DECALF coffee is alright????
Posted by: Norm James at February 5, 2008 12:58 PM
this seems to explain a puzzling change in my before and after tests. iwonder if the add meds have the same effect?
Posted by: Candace Roache at February 5, 2008 12:02 PM
What about decaffeinated coffee? It should be at least better than no coffee at all.
Posted by: Chuck Curry at February 5, 2008 10:29 AM