[wiredfoxterror]

Caffeine ups blood sugar level in diabetics: study

By Will DunhamMon Jan 28, 12:42 AM ET

Cutting down on caffeine could help people with the most common form of diabetes better control their blood sugar levels, researchers said on Monday.

Giving caffeine to a small group of people with type 2 diabetes caused their levels of the blood sugar glucose to rise through the day, especially after meals, researchers at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, found.

"Caffeine appears to disrupt glucose metabolism in a way that could be harmful to people with type-2 diabetes," James Lane, a Duke medical psychologist who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

Caffeine is found in coffee, tea and many soft drinks.

Diabetes is a condition in which one's blood glucose levels are too high. Having too much glucose in the blood can damage the eyes, kidneys and nerves, and diabetes can also lead to heart disease, stroke and limb amputations.

Type-2 diabetes is the form closely linked to obesity.

The new findings seem to run counter to previous research regarding diabetes and caffeine. Earlier studies indicated that people who drank coffee had a reduced risk of type-2 diabetes, and those who drank the most coffee had the lowest risk.

The researchers used new technology -- a tiny glucose monitor embedded under the abdominal skin -- to monitor the glucose levels continuously in 10 people, average age 63.

On days when the participants were given four tablets containing caffeine equivalent to four cups of coffee, their average daily sugar levels rose 8 percent compared to days when the same people were given four placebo tablets, the researchers reported in the journal Diabetes Care.

"What we are really showing here is that when people with type-2 diabetes who are regular coffee drinkers drink coffee, it produces an elevation in their glucose throughout the day above what it is if they don't have caffeine," Lane said.

"This suggests that people with diabetes might want to avoid coffee and other caffeinated beverages so that this exaggeration doesn't occur. They may find that it's easier for them to keep their glucose down if they avoid caffeine."

Lane cited two possible explanations.

Caffeine may interfere with the process that transports glucose from the blood into muscle and other cells in the body to be burned as fuel, he said. Caffeine also triggers the release of the hormone adrenaline, which can elevate blood sugar levels, he said.

A number of studies have provided various results about the health effects of caffeine.

For example, U.S. researchers reported last Monday that pregnant women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day have twice the risk of a miscarriage as those who avoid caffeine. Other U.S. researchers reported the next day that caffeine may lower a woman's chances of developing ovarian cancer.
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[wiccanmalenurse]

Interesting article. I have always consumed a lot of caffeine and it has never stalled me, but then again I am not taking in all the glucose talked about in the article either. It is interesting though but I have found that when I am feeling a hunger pain, a glass of iced tea gets me through it without any stalls to date. Maybe if I cut back on it I could do even better,
David
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[lowcarb42008]

I am familiar with this study; it is not new, and in the study the volunteers took caffeine pills (like Vivarin), not coffee, which is full of health promoting antioxidants along with the inherent caffeine.

Also, I believe they also took a breakfast drink that contained 70 grams carbs (yeah you read it right...)...my eyes almost fell out of my head when I read that...don't know if THAT'S mentioned in the study above or not, but those carbs alone are enough to mess with anyone's blood sugar.

The latest studies show coffee actually DECREASES one's risk of diabetes. Sorry I don't have a link but any google search will easily find them.

Guess you can tell I love my coffee and I feel it's good for you too.

[bluejay111]

I agree with lowcarb42008. These people were given caffine tablets not regular coffee. Regular coffee has other compounds besides caffine including antioxidants as lowcarb42008 said. This is just another BS study that the media climbs on without getting the real facts.
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[untilnextthursdy]

*reads headline*

Out of my cold dead hands!

*grasps her coffee cup tighter*