Glycemic Coffee

The abstract begin by pointing out that habitual coffee consumption has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, drinking just 250 ml (about 8 fluid ounces) of black coffee an hour before a high-carb meal increased the average blood glucose level of eight volunteers by 26 percent compared to when they drank hot water.

These new studies don’t refute earlier studies that suggest that people can reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by drinking coffee. Different factors may be at work. Maybe it’s because people who don’t have diabetes can produce enough insulin to overcome the insulin resistance that caffeine can temporarily cause.

But once we have diabetes it makes sense to limit our coffee consumption – as painful as even the thought of it is to habitual coffee drinkers like me. Herbal tea, anyone?