Coffee and Diabetes - How Caffeine Affects Type 2 Diabetics

While more research needs to be done before any recommendations can be made about how coffee affects diabetes (or the risk of diabetes), the results of the studies are interesting.

• Several studies (see one here) suggests that participants who drank caffeinated coffee lowered their risk of getting diabetes, when compared with study participants who did not drink coffee. The participants with the lowest risk were the ones who drank the most caffeinated coffee.

  Some participants also drank decaffeinated coffee but there were too few of them for researchers to make any conclusions.

  Researchers don't know what ingredient in coffee is offering protection against diabetes. Caffeine is not believed to be the protective ingredient, but rather the chemicals in coffee appear to have protective qualities.

• A small study was conducted on people who have already developed diabetes. It was found that diabetics who drank caffeinated coffee experienced significant rises in blood glucose levels -- to the point where the caffeine raises blood sugar as much as insulin or diabetes medications lowers it. Drinking caffeinated coffee (or any other beverage with caffeine) may make it harder for diabetics to control their blood glucose levels.

  People react differently to caffeine. Researchers suggest that diabetics who want to control their blood sugar levels better, try switching to decaffeinated coffee or giving up coffee for a while to see if it makes a difference. Some people will notice a change while others may not.

• Studies were based on drinking black coffee with cream and sugar. Fancy, sugary, specialty coffee drinks aren't included.

Here's a link to one article with more information about coffee and diabetes.