Researchers from the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, have found a link between caffeine intake and elevated blood glucose and insulin levels in type 2 diabetics who habitually drink coffee. The results of this research were published in the Feb. issue of Diabetes Care.
Through their laboratory studies, the Duke researchers found that caffeine exaggerates glucose and insulin responses in habitual coffee drinkers with type 2 diabetes. The 10 subjects—5 men and 5 women—were given a 500 mg dose of caffeine per day, or a placebo. Results showed that subjects who consumed caffeine had an average elevation of blood sugar levels of 8%. The caffeine also elevated post-prandial blood glucose: 9% after breakfast, 15% after lunch and 26% after dinner.
“Our study suggests that one way to lower blood sugar is to simply quit drinking coffee, or any other caffeinated beverages,” notes James D. Lane, Ph.D., lead author of the study. “It may not be easy, but it doesn’t cost a dime, and there are no side effects.” Lane has focused much research over the years on caffeine pharmacology and psychophysiology, as well as diabetes.
The researchers theorized that caffeine might interfere with the process of moving glucose from the blood and into muscle and other cells in the body and/or that caffeine triggers adrenaline release.
