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Caffeine

noblehead

noblehead

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I stopped drinking tea and coffee with caffeine on Monday, and now drink decaf versions instead, and although I can't taste the difference, I have noticed that my bg's are a lot lower and I have had to reduce my insulin a little to compensate.

I searched the net and found numerous articles that suggested caffeine can increase bg's, more so when taken with a meal, and it is said by reducing the amount of caffeine drank each day can help lower overall blood glucose, although most said this was more relevant in type 2's. Has anyone else had a similar experience since reducing/ditching caffeine?

Nigel
 
Hi Nigel,

As no one else has responded yet, I'll give you my tuppenceworth.

One a personal level I love coffee and used to drink loads of it all day. In recent years I've cut down to only drinking it in the mornings and try to avoid any coffee after mid day. In my case it gave me headaches by late afternoon if I had drank several cups.

I'm also a "disciple" of Jack Black's "Mindstore" programme. I cannot put a link on here as it's a commercial website, but if you google the word Mindstore you will get to his websites and can watch a few of his videos for free. NB - this is not that chubby annoying American comedy (I use the term losely in his case) actor, but a Scottish motivational coach...........Glasgow's answer to Anthony Robbins if you like. :wink: Jack hates coffee and encourages everyone to stop drinking it. One of his main arguements for NOT drinking it is that it interferes with the alpha theta brain waves and therefore prohibits a good night's sleep.

Today I've also been thumbing through one of my books called "Mastering Leptin" which has an entire chapter dedicated to your very question. The summary is as follows:

If a person has a moderate ammount of caffeine, sleeps well at night, sticks to the eating pattern of the Five Rules, has normal blood pressure, maintains an optomistic mood, is either losing weight or maintaining optimum weight, then caffeine may actually work towards improved health and metabolic fitness. At least it is not noticeably detracting from health.

The problem for most people who are Leptin resistant is that they are prone to compulsive or addictive consumption patterns, easily leading to excess caffeine consumption and therefore wiping out any benefits that may have been had.

Individuals with a history of weight issues, Leptin resistance and any type of drug/alcohol abuse need to be quite wary of falling into the trap of excess caffeine consumption. Any person consuming more than two servings of caffeine per day is on the edge of, if not already in, a significant problem with energy and metabolism.
Click to expand...

I've just Googled it and come up with this interesting little blog article which kind of sums things up nicely, in plain English. I don't think this is a commercial website - I could see no evidence of anyone trying to flog me anything :wink: so perhaps the moderators will allow this link to remain. If not, what I've said above is more or less the jist of the article anyway - everything in moderation:

hubpages.com/hub/Caffeinegoodorbadforyourhealth

Finally, in case anyone is interested, the Five Rules referred to in the extract from the book "Mastering Leptin" above, are as follows:

Rule 1 = never eat after dinner

Rule 2 = eat 3 meals a day and DO NOT snack

Rule 3 = do not eat large meals and eat slowly

Rule 4 = eat a high protein breakfast

Rule 5 = reduce the amount of carbs eaten
 
i would say that the milk in the tea or coffee would raise bgs rather than the actual caffeine. i get a little 30 min spike off tea and coffee of a bout 1 mmol but if i have them black no difference. the same with coke zero and other diet drinks no rise in bgs whatsoever and they are ladend in caffeine. one thing i have noticed though, if i drink tea coke zero or pepsi max i cannot stop peeing for england with a dull pain always near the groin until i pee. but if i have the sprite zero or asda own brand lemonade no peeing problems. i was wondering if that was the caffeine as there is no caffeine in the lemonade. it had me very anxious at one point because i drive for a living and having to stop every 20 mins for a pee was a nightmare. also i thought my sugars were up because of the non stop peeing but they werent it was the coke!
 
I must admit I love Pepsi Max too and drink lots of the stuff.

However, my son sent me one of those funny emails the other day pointing out the difference between water and Coke (they use it to clean drains, remove stubborn stains, leave a coin in a cup of it for a few hours and it's all shiny and new looking, etc, etc).

Kinda makes you wonder what it does to your insides. :shock:
 
Hi Ardbeg,

I can't say I've heard of 'Jack Black' and don't really know much about 'Mastering Leptin' either, but you seem to be well versed on both subjects, and obviously feel it is beneficial to your health! :D
I shall explain my reasons for dropping caffeine when answering bedshaped2000 post.

bedshaped 2000,

The pain in the groin feeling is exactly what I was experiencing, as well as frequent trips to the loo. I had numerous tests and examinations, but all came back clear, and as my diabetes control is good and all within range both pre/post meal-times, I was at a loose end to what was causing this. I have had this feeling for a number of years, but put it down to getting older. My gp said it was possible it could be a irritable bladder problem, and suggested that rather than take medicine to help this problem, I may want to change my diet slightly and reduce or cut out certain foods and drink.

I came home and spent the afternoon reading about irritable bladder problems on the net, and looked at which foodstuff irritate the bladder. Most suggested caffeine was the biggest culprit, as it acts as a diuretic, likewise some acidic foods can also be responsible, so decided to cut out these too. After only 2 days I noticed a difference, and my pain had gone and I was going to the loo less often, now around once every 2-3 hours even though I still maintained my fluid intake, and on the third night actually slept for 7 hours without waking, where previously I would wake 1-2 times a night.

What surprised me most was, that I also found my bg were running lower than normal, so I had to reduce my insulin doses accordingly, only by 1 unit at each meal though. I read on one site that drinking caffeine with a meal can cause post-meal highs, and will admit that my bg's are more stable since cutting out caffeine with my food. As someone who previously drank 8-9 cups of tea and coffee a day, I am thankful that most tea/coffee manufacturers make decaff versions, so I don't have to forgo my favourite drinks.

As I say, I wasn't expecting it to help with my bg's when cutting out caffeine, but just pleased that the dull pain is no more, and I am not always looking around for the nearest loo wherever I go!

Thanks for your replies! :)

Nigel
 
I read somewhere recently (sorry cannot remember where) that green tea is a much healthier option; particularly if you have diabetes.
 
Ardbeg said:
I read somewhere recently (sorry cannot remember where) that green tea is a much healthier option; particularly if you have diabetes.
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Thanks Ardbeg!

I do still drink green tea, have done for a number of years now. The brand I use from Holland & Barrett is very low in caffeine, so I still enjoy at least 1 cup day. As I said earlier, I was quite surprised that there is no taste difference in drinking decaff tea and coffee.

Regards

Nigel
 
I drink bucket's of the stuff (coffee) and I have to say it has no effect on my Bg levels at all. I used to drink decaf but found it too bland........so it's back to the 'hard stuff' now ! :D

Ken
 
cugila said:
I drink bucket's of the stuff (coffee) and I have to say it has no effect on my Bg levels at all. I used to drink decaf but found it too bland........so it's back to the 'hard stuff' now ! :D

Ken
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'Buckets of the stuff'..............who are you a horse! :lol:

Nigel
 
I used to be addicted to Pepsi Max - would literally drink between 3 and 4 2-litre bottles of the stuff each and every day. Used to make mee pee loads but I don't remember it having a tremendous effect on my BGs. I got worried about the sheer quantities of caffeine I must have been consuming (I also drank regular, caffeinated coffees too) so I just decided to quit (and did about 3 years ago). I went for at least a year not taking any caffeine, but then relented to allow myself one small cup of caffeinated coffee in the early afternoon (still haven't gone back to the Pepsi Max though).

One thing I noticed was that I used to be practically falling asleep in the afternoons (between 1pm and 3pm) and would down coffee like it was going out of fashion to give me a boost and wake me up. When i quit the 'feine though, I stopped feeling tired in the afternoon. I don't have the desperate to pee urge anymore either.

All good and I certainly don't feel like I'm missing out. Asda/Tesco do a really cheap Caffeine-free diet cola which serves me well now :)

Richard
 
Ardbeg said:
I must admit I love Pepsi Max too and drink lots of the stuff.

However, my son sent me one of those funny emails the other day pointing out the difference between water and Coke (they use it to clean drains, remove stubborn stains, leave a coin in a cup of it for a few hours and it's all shiny and new looking, etc, etc).

Kinda makes you wonder what it does to your insides. :shock:
Click to expand...

Same! I could easily drink 3l of pepsi max a day but im starting to cut down now alittle :)
 
Ardbeg said:
I must admit I love Pepsi Max too and drink lots of the stuff.

However, my son sent me one of those funny emails the other day pointing out the difference between water and Coke (they use it to clean drains, remove stubborn stains, leave a coin in a cup of it for a few hours and it's all shiny and new looking, etc, etc).

Kinda makes you wonder what it does to your insides. :shock:
Click to expand...

Nothing much, as stomach acid is pH 0.8 -pH 1.0 and is mainly sulphuric acid, where as the phosphoric acid in coke or any soft drink, including Ribena, is about pH3 - pH4. As another comparison what about citrus fruit (oranges and lemons) their pH from citric acid is around 2 - 4.

The only thing to worry about here is the demineralisation of tooth enamel and it is recommended not to brush your teeth for about an hour after consumption.

For the non chemists the pH scale goes from 0 - 14, with pH 0 the most acidic, pH14 the most alkaline and pH 7 neutal.

Oh, and my poison is Diet Coke and Latte.
 
I have a terrible diet coke habit. I also drink rather a lot of black coffee.
I do keep trying to cut down, but figure there are far worse habits to have!
 
Dippy3103 said:
I have a terrible diet coke habit. I also drink rather a lot of black coffee.
I do keep trying to cut down, but figure there are far worse habits to have!
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There certainly is, I do miss the caffeine kick occasionally, but really can't tell the difference between caffeinated and decaffeinated!

Nigel
 
I must say I can cerainly tell the difference in taste between Decaff and Std coffee, personally I cant stand the Decaf, it has a bland coffee flavoured taste to me :)
 
Talos said:
I must say I can cerainly tell the difference in taste between Decaff and Std coffee, personally I cant stand the Decaf, it has a bland coffee flavoured taste to me :)
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It must depend on the brand of coffee Talos, I drink Nescafe and don't notice any difference in taste between the two, my wife has also starting drinking decaff and says she cannot taste the difference either.

Nigel
 
I drink Carte Noire decaff and nobody has questioned the taste. I don't tell them it is decaff until they ask for a second cup. :lol: Ignorance is bliss.
 
catherinecherub said:
I drink Carte Noire decaff and nobody has questioned the taste. I don't tell them it is decaff until they ask for a second cup. :lol: Ignorance is bliss.
Click to expand...

Well I won't be buying caffeinated coffee anymore, so anyone thinking of coming to my house will be drinking decaff or nothing at all! :twisted:

Nigel
 
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