Preventing Diabetes with . . . Coffee?
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I love (LOVE) coffee and I have type 2 diabetes, so when I read on PHYSORG.com that
“Scientists are reporting new evidence that drinking coffee may help prevent diabetes and that caffeine may be the ingredient largely responsible for this effect.” (ACS Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry)
I was pretty darn excited.
According to Fumihiko Horio and his colleagues, studies on mice have suggested that regular coffee consumption may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. When the researchers fed either water or coffee to lab mice, the coffee seemed to prevent high-blood sugar and improved insulin sensitivity, thus reducing the risk of diabetes. And other research showed that caffeine might actually be one of the most effective anti-diabetic compounds in the coffee.
I decided to look into this a little more, and, unfortunately, I ran into that “if it sounds too good to be true” thing.
According to the Detroit Free Press, some research indicates that five or six cups of coffee a day might lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but other studies have indicated that in those who already have blood sugar problem, caffeine can exaggerate them.
CBS News and WebMD also reported that caffeine makes it hard for those with diabetes to control their blood sugar. Dr. James D. Lane and his colleagues at Duke University conducted a small study (10 people) on people with type 2 diabetes who were regular coffee drinkers (4 cups a day). During the study, they stopped drinking coffee but took 250 mg caffeine capsules (about the same amount of caffeine as in two cups of coffee) at breakfast and lunch; on other days, they got caffeine-free placebo pills.
The researchers found that when the patients had caffeine, their blood-sugar levels were higher, a significant 8 percent higher. And after all of their meals – including dinner – their blood sugar was higher than on the days without caffeine.
According to Dr. Lane, “Caffeine increases blood glucose by as much as oral diabetes medications decrease it … It seems the detrimental effects of caffeine are as bad as the beneficial effects of oral diabetes drugs are good.”
Are you confused yet? I mean there are a lot of other studies that show that coffee has a positive effect on diabetes and the risk of developing it. So now what’s up with this?
Well, at this point, the feeling is that it might be other components of coffee that are beneficial regarding diabetes, not the caffeine. Decaf coffee might actually help with keeping blood sugar under control, but regular coffee . . . probably not so much.
So, what’s a diabetic to do? I, for one, am going to conduct my own little study. If caffeine is having a negative effect on my blood sugar, I’m going to have to reevaluate my love of coffee. You might want to try it yourself. And, since I really do love coffee, real coffee (the kind with caffeine), I’m going to keep my eye on this topic in the news.
As always, although every effort is made to insure that the information in this blog is accurate, it is for information and entertainment purposes only; it is not meant in any way to substitute for or replace medical advice. If you suspect that you might have type 2 diabetes — or any medical condition — you should consult with your medical practitioner.
