Diabetes Doesn't Define You

For some reason, lately I've been seeing a lot of articles about coffee possibly assisting in the prevention of type 2 diabetes? These articles can be very confusing at times. Many of these articles seems to only go one way or another. Many studies seem to point coffee in a favorable position, while others do not. However, as I dig further, the problem doesn't appear to be in the coffee bean, but the caffeine within the coffee itself. Yet, I think that it's accurate to say that, this is one of those things when "it depends on individual experience".

I'd just like to take a quick minute to talk about my personal experience with coffee, without all the tons of research jargon. Before you continue to read, remember to consider that everyone's body will be different, and the effects may not be the same.

I've done a little test a while back. I fasted one morning, consuming one cup of coffee and checked my blood sugar every hour for four hours. My blood sugars did not spike, in fact it almost was not effected at all. However, The next time I drank coffee in the morning, it would be with my usual breakfast, not only did I notice a significant spike in my blood sugars, I had to use more insulin to cover those sugars. My sugars also stayed higher longer than usual. I found out later that this was due to the caffeine in the coffee.

From what I understand, caffeine does mainly two things to a diabetic. One, it hinders your insulin's ability to do it's job. Two, it also triggers a release of other hormones that causes the liver to release more glucose than usual. Interesting in my case it did not do that, however, I definitely felt the difference when I drank it along with food.

I also have IBS (controlled). If I consume large amount of coffee (more than about 1 cup (8 ounces)) I've noticed that caffeine sometimes aggravates and causes terrible muscle spasms, and cramps in my stomach due to the IBS. By nature I don't normally drink coffee, but when I do, it's usually when I know I'll be home for the day. However, some claim that coffee can assist in healthy bowl movements. Personally, I find this debatable; it's like saying a lactose intolerant person who drinks a ton of whole milk get a healthy bowl movement, just because he or she got one. If You have IBS talk to your doctor, or nutritionist about caffeine.

What many people may not be aware of, is that caffeine is also an accelerant~stimulant, and may not be good for people with existing heart disease or high blood pressure. Too much caffeine can cause dangerous palpitations for people with existing heart conditions. It can have the same dangerous effects as an herb called Ma-huang if taken in large quantities.

Now it appears that almost every soft drink (and sometimes nutritional supplements) on the market contain caffeine in them. America literally runs on caffeine. How ironic that although coffee in large consumptions can be bad for us, it is another families livelihood.

Yogi