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Coffee - To Drink Or Not To Drink...that Is The Question.

N

Nexus6

Well-Known Member
Messages
78
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
So I've been "experimenting" with the meter and various foods, times of measurements after eating etc, and one thing I have noticed is that coffee (at this point caffeinated - have yet to try decaf) first thing when I get to work raises my level from 5.9 to at LEAST 6.9 (this is very consistent and tested numerous times) over 1 hour. Sometimes even into the low 7s.

Note, that I usually wake up to a 5.9 (which I would really like to reduce too!) and if I eat or drink NOTHING, my levels will usually drop to under 5.0 by 10:30 or 11:00am.

So, if you were me...would you completely just skip the coffee altogether? Is a rise of 1.0 nothing to even worry about?

Also...how do I REDUCE that morning syndrome? I am not on any meds etc at this point...should I consider metformin to additional help?
 
Hi @Nexus6 what do you put in your coffee or do you have it black with no sugar?
 
Sorry all, should have been more specific. 10oz of caffeinated coffee with a splash of 10% fat (half/half - 1g carbs per tablespoon).

In general, likely pre-diabetic, but not fully diagnosed yet (have not gone for the glucose test yet etc). Based on my own measurements, am often in the pre-diabetic ranges).

Been keeping fairly LC with only rarely intermittent lapses into a dessert etc. Have been experimenting with resistant carbs (cold pasta, soaked oatmeal etc) a bit to determine their impact (not as bad as I thought they would be FYI). Good LCHF meals don't raise my levels very much usually - always under 2 points very typical.
 
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Maybe try not having the coffee and see what happens.. is your job particularly stressful or the journey to work?
You could alternatively try an evening coffee when at home and see what happens then.
I don't seem to react to coffee at all (thankfully for me) although I have double cream in my multiples per day.
 
No...pretty calm ride in to work. Thinking about it a bit more, I think that EVERYTHING I eat seems to impact my levels more first thing in the morning. Do higher levels from dawn syndrome get amplified by ingesting various things? Is there any way to "blunt" dawn syndrome rises?

For example....should I get up earlier and go for a walk? Should I eat something first thing (eggs/bacon etc).
 
Unfortunately the dawn phenomenon seems to have completely different effects on different people. There really isn't a way around it except by self experimentation and lets face it bacon and eggs aren't a hardship in the morning. So I'd give it a go and see what happens. Also try sticking "dawn phenomenon" in the search box and you might get some more info. Hope that helps.
 
Firstly I don't think a rise of 1 point to 6.9 is too worrisome on the assumption that your level will naturally drop down again. Metformin simply blocks gluconeogenesis (the body's production of glucose from the liver) but has side effects and doesn''t sort out the underlying problem of insulin resistance.
The best analogy of the dawn thing is that it is like coming into bright sunlight from a dark room; your body will be more reactive to any carbs or caffeine first thing so I like BB's suggestion which amounts to caffeine (and any carb relapses for that matter) relegated to the evening. Alternatively try blitzing coffee with coconut oil/butter (bulletproof with no carbs and very satiating!). Other than that, I quick sprint up and down any stairs might nuke the slight spike you are experiencing.
The longer term solutions involve what you are already trying plus maybe some resistance training to increase your insulin sensitivity. It is good that you are measuring but maybe more instructive to measure fasting and then 4 hours post breakfast and subsequent meals to truly see how your body is handling any carbs etc.
I am type 1 btw so mine can spike to 20+ simply thinking about carbs!
 
There some suggestion on Dave Fieldman's blog that coffee messes up some peoples cholesterol figures.
D.
 
Try having a piece of cheese after your coffee. I do not like cream in my coffee to rich for me, but I do have a splash of milk. I usually have some cheese after, stops any rise for me
 
derry60 said:
Try having a piece of cheese after your coffee. I do not like cream in my coffee to rich for me, but I do have a splash of milk. I usually have some cheese after, stops any rise for me
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Why does cheese stop a rise? I’ve never heard that before? Thanks
 
Yes, I'm curious as well....should I be trying to eat something fatty BEFORE coffee at work (on empty stomach)?
 
Hi i'm type 1 so may be different for me, but I was told by my dietician that food with lactose can make your BG rise naturally anyway, a 1 point rise doesn't seem too much. Did you notice it rise anymore than that? I normally have black coffee with 2 sweetners and it doesn't effect my BG at all
 
Hi @Nexus6 and @CandiceWilson, Caffeine induces the liver to release some of its stored glucose. (wedmd.com How does caffeine affect your blood sugar) Sure the milk in the coffee will also cause a sugar rise because of the milk sugar (lactose) in it. The fat in cheese, and even the milk, slows down absorption of the coffee, it takes longer to go from stomach to the small intestine to be absorbed and then affect BSLs.
If it was the Dawn Phenomenon (see site for description) causing the bsl rise, then the rise would occur to some extent whether you were drinking coffee first thing or not.
The expected time for a meal to cause a maximal increase in BSL is said to be about 90 minutes to 120 minutes (see this site for details) You could perhaps do BSL readings at intervals say, at 1, 2, 2 1/2, 3 hours to what effect adding full cream or cheese or not, would make.
Please keep enjoying the coffee.
Last thought: there is a created word: procaffeination - meaning the feeling of looking forward to drinking coffee - if one becomes tense with the thought of running late for obtaining that first cuppa, THAT could put the BSL up !!
 
bulkbiker said:
Maybe although no experiments yet...luckily we know they are only numbers that can be manipulated eh?
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Well, it all depends? In the final analysis people like Dave Fieldman and friends are not dogmatic and hedge their bets on the nature of LDL and it effects on our health.
However there seems to be a fairly universal acceptance that high HDL and low Trigs is good and is a better position to be in.
D.
 
To Drink, or not the drink (coffee). Whether 'tis noble in the mind to suffer, the slings and arrows of outrageous deprivation,
Or the take aim against a sea of bad coffee makers, And by opposing trash them. To drink, to dream, no more, and by drinking coffee, to say we end, the heartache and the thousand shocks of caffeine withdrawal, That our flesh is heir to. Tis a cappuccino revolution, Devoutly to be wished, To drink ,to dream, To drink caffeine perchance to dream, Are there's the percolator gurgle.
For in drinking of coffee, what dreams may come When he have layed awake, foiled from sleep by over-caffeination.
 
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@kitedoc - thanks! Gave me a smile. Interesting this morning...woke up to a 5.8, then ate 4-5 small balls of fresh mozza with a couple little chunks of ham, along with a tablespoon of almond butter. Only jumped to 6.0. I'll keep playing around....
 
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