Coffee or tea for a person with diabetes?

GraceK said:

Transplantee said:

Blimey folks.... I think I must be totally losing the plot.

I am absolutely sure that I was clearly told by a senior doctor specialising in pancreatic problems that tea and coffee are bad for the pancreas.

I therefore thought that anyone who is anything like diabetic would avoid tea and coffee like the plague and so that's what I do as part of my self management.

Have I really completely misunderstood what I was told?


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What? :x Avoid tea? :eh: :eh: Erm ... I don't think so ... :think:

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I shouldn't think so. I think you should go by what your specialist says. I have not been warned about tea and coffee by a professional and so I 'glug' away.

Transplantee said:

Blimey folks.... I think I must be totally losing the plot.

I am absolutely sure that I was clearly told by a senior doctor specialising in pancreatic problems that tea and coffee are bad for the pancreas.

I therefore thought that anyone who is anything like diabetic would avoid tea and coffee like the plague and so that's what I do as part of my self management.

Have I really completely misunderstood what I was told?


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I don't think you have misunderstood. This article mentions it in the heading REPORTED EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE. No. 16.

"Causes blood sugar/blood glucose to be released from storage through the effects of the adrenal hormones. This gives a temporary lift but causes your pancreas to overwork. This is because your pancreas has to produce extra insulin.............".
http://www.pe2000.com/caffeine.html

I always drink caffeine free drinks.

Thanks for the clarification CC! I've been caffeine free since diagnosis, - a serious wrench I'll have you know! I saw this thread and was starting to think that I'd misunderstood.


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Hmm...so is the implication that the polyphenols in tea are more beneficial than the adverse effects of the caffeine in tea...or is it just as unclear to the docs and researchers as it is to me?

Anyway...seems like coffee bad, tea maybe bad, maybe good but best to avoid caffeine and get your polyphenol boost elsewhere?


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I suddenly became lactose intolerant at 16 so stopped putting milk in my tea.

I like chamomile and peppermint mostly. Actually, I freaking adore peppermint.

Goddamn I HATE all artificial sweeteners, so sugar it is... A cup or two of tea doesn't make That much difference compared to food.


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I'm coffee all day long with the occasions tea about 3 times a month! I do think coffee first thing has an awful effect on sugars tho, somehow... :?:

I drink mostly tea, about 4 cups a day with skimmed milk, but also coffee with milk and a sweetener, and also chai tea with a sweetener and milk occasionally.

jojogirl said:

I'm coffee all day long with the occasions tea about 3 times a month! I do think coffee first thing has an awful effect on sugars tho, somehow... :?:

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I've had 5 mugs of fresh-brew Thai coffee, breakfast and an apple just now. My bG is 6 so I am 'on the fence' about coffee. Normally I drink about 10 mugs a day. Last week I tried going without to see if there was any difference but I only lasted a day! I may try again and report back.

I drink both but never with sugar or sweetener - milk spikes by bs so a latte is a rare treat now unless I am going hypo otherwise black coffee does not raise my bs at all ever


Diagnosed type II 1998 2 x 80 mg Gliclazide, 4 x 500mg Metformin and 1 x 100mg Sitagliptin

Neil Walters said:

I drink both but never with sugar or sweetener - milk spikes by bs so a latte is a rare treat now unless I am going hypo otherwise black coffee does not raise my bs at all ever


Diagnosed type II 1998 2 x 80 mg Gliclazide, 4 x 500mg Metformin and 1 x 100mg Sitagliptin

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That is the impression I am getting with black coffee...and I hope it's the case, as I live on coffee as I'm alcohol-free and need a buzz!

When you 'spike' do you mean above the guideline ceiling or have you set your own ceiling. I'm trying to grasp to what extent things like milk affect people. I read about 1 slice of bread, more than 100ml milk etc. causing people bG problems. My bG this morning was 6.0 after eating, which is below the guideline ceiling. If I had a slice of toast as well it might well have been over the ceiling (7.0) but I would tend not to be concerned so long as my bG goes down again fairly soon and I don't make a habit of it. Do you think that is a bad policy (with your longer experience of diabetes)?

Neil Walters said:

I drink both but never with sugar or sweetener - milk spikes by bs so a latte is a rare treat now unless I am going hypo otherwise black coffee does not raise my bs at all ever


Diagnosed type II 1998 2 x 80 mg Gliclazide, 4 x 500mg Metformin and 1 x 100mg Sitagliptin

Click to expand...

That is the impression I am getting with black coffee...and I hope it's the case, as I live on coffee as I'm alcohol-free and need a buzz!

When you 'spike' do you mean above the guideline ceiling or have you set your own ceiling. I'm trying to grasp to what extent things like milk affect people. I read about 1 slice of bread, more than 100ml milk etc. causing people bG problems. My bG this morning was 6.0 after eating, which is below the guideline ceiling. If I had a slice of toast as well it might well have been over the ceiling (7.0) but I would tend not to be concerned so long as my bG goes down again fairly soon and I don't make a habit of it. Do you think that is a bad policy (with your longer experience of diabetes)?

catherinecherub said:

Transplantee said:

Blimey folks.... I think I must be totally losing the plot.

I am absolutely sure that I was clearly told by a senior doctor specialising in pancreatic problems that tea and coffee are bad for the pancreas.

I therefore thought that anyone who is anything like diabetic would avoid tea and coffee like the plague and so that's what I do as part of my self management.

Have I really completely misunderstood what I was told?


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Click to expand...

I don't think you have misunderstood. This article mentions it in the heading REPORTED EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE. No. 16.

"Causes blood sugar/blood glucose to be released from storage through the effects of the adrenal hormones. This gives a temporary lift but causes your pancreas to overwork. This is because your pancreas has to produce extra insulin.............".
http://www.pe2000.com/caffeine.html

I always drink caffeine free drinks.

Click to expand...

Oh **** **** ****. I wish I hadn't read this.... There goes another bit of pre-diagnosis life...

If I have a milky coffee or a latte from Starbucks (I used to have far too much of them until about 18 months ago) then I will be maybe 8 plus and if it was a large one then higher than that - a venti sized latte has over half a pint of warm hot milk. If I have more than about 50mls of milk with 60g of shredded wheat I will be over 10. But I can have 2 x 8 cup caffitieres of freshly ground black coffee with no effect whatsoever and yesterday actually went hypo to 3.1 after the coffee mid morning having been over 8 following the shredded wheat 2 hours before.


Diagnosed type II 1998 2 x 80 mg Gliclazide, 4 x 500mg Metformin and 1 x 100mg Sitagliptin

Coffee for me please. I have about 5 cups per day. I drink about 2 cups of tea per year and that's usually because a friend has made it for me by mistake.

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Coffee has no effect on my sugars, or at least the coffee I drink doesn't raise my sugars. I drink Maxwell House Velvet Blend with a considerable amount of milk (just to give it a tan colour) and even throw in two teaspoons of Splenda for good measure! I usually have one in the morning and believe me it takes very little to throw my sugars off after breakfast -_- I'm highly insulin resistant at that time of day. So it's odd to hear that coffee supposedly has an adverse effect on blood glucose levels.

I used to drink 6 cups of builders tea a day. No one else seems to leave the T bag in long enough.
When my best friend said "I'll show you how to make a proper cup of tea..." And he put boiling water on my Tetley T bag and set my cooker timer for 3 minutes and said "Now leave it alone. No prodding !!"

3 minutes later and I couldn't believe the difference. It had... substance and real taste.

Ever since then I do it the 'proper' way.

Until I realised that sugar in my tea makes my levels spike. So I now buy Tescos fizzy mineral water and a slice of lemon and lime and as I start the day with a glass of water 'til I do my first reading I just carry on with the water.

I don't like sweeteners or low cal sugar. I have treid them all and had high hopes for Stevia but that tasted rank too.
I can't drink tea without sugar so I just don't drink tea anymore.

And I don't drink coffee either.

But I reckon I am saving 40 cals per cup. 6 cups is 240 cals. Per day. That's about 1,500 calories a week.

Seeing as I HAVE to lose some weight it is a small sacrifice....

Oolong tea with fresh ginger and lemon in the morning. I am fond of espresso and with my Lapavoni machine I can make superb Quality. In the evening herbal tea. All without sugar or milk. With my coffee I take a small pièce of very fabel chocolate.