WHAT we eat and drink affects our health. The relevance of this association is even more significant among those who have pre-diabetes and those who actually have diabetes.
Soft drinks—diet or regular—are all harmful, toxic to the body of adults and children. Soft drinks increase the risk for metabolic syndrome. Processed fruits juices are likewise unhealthy. Eating the fresh fruits or drinking fruit juice that you extracted yourself without any additives are the healthier options.
How about coffee, a popular day-starter and afternoon break beverage, one of the most popular drinks in the world?
Recent clinical studies have concluded that drinking coffee may actually reduce the risk for the development of diabetes. But how about coffee for those who already have pre-diabetes or diabetes? Does it affect the glucose (blood sugar) and A1c levels?
A cup of 8-ounce coffee contains 140 milligrams of caffeine. Taking two cups a day, or even consuming up to 400 milligrams of caffeine, appears to be safe for most healthy adults. They do not jack up the blood sugar level significantly when a teaspoon or two of sugar is used. Adding more sugar, creamer, flavoring (which are carbohydrates) to coffee will obviously increase the glucose level to a higher degree among diabetics, unless included in the prescribed daily calorie count.
Coffee consumption
Worldwide, about 1.4 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day; 45 percent (400 million cups) of which are in the United States, according to the International Coffee Organization. But the per capita consumption globally shows that the United States is number 22, drinking four kilograms of coffee per person a year. Scandinavian countries top the list: Finland, 11 kilograms of coffee per person per year; Norway, just below 11; and Sweden and Denmark, about 10.
Type 2 Diabetes
In 2012, there were 29.1 million Americans (9.3 percent of the US population) who had diabetes, but 8.1 million were undiagnosed. Worldwide, there are more than 422 million (of the 7.4 billion people on earth today) who have diabetes.
The prevalence of diabetes among seniors, aged 65 and older, is 25.9 percent, or about 11.8 million. Every year, about 1.4 million Americans are discovered with diabetes. In 2012, there were 86 million Americans 20 and older found to have pre-diabetes — 8 million more than in 2010. Diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United States.
By race/ethnic background, the prevalence rate is as follows: Non-Hispanic whites, 7.6 percent; Asian-Americans, 9.0; Hispanics, 12.8; non-Hispanic blacks, 13.2; American Indians/Alaskan natives, 15.9 percent. The breakdown among Asian Americans: Chinese, 4.4 percent; Filipinos, 11.3; Asian Indians, 13; other Asian-Americans, 8.8 percent.
Coffee and caffeine
Caffeine is the natural chemical ingredient in coffee. It is a central nervous system stimulant that is found in more than 60 plants, like coffee beans and tea leaves. Caffeine affects how a person feels and behaves. It wakes the brain up in the morning, improves focus and concentration, and helps relieve the sense of fatigue. Laboratory-formulated caffeine is used as an additive to food, energy drinks, and prescription medications. While caffeine is the most well-known ingredient in coffee, there are others which are beneficial to health. Polyphenols are one of them, an antioxidant that prevents inflammatory illnesses such as type 2 diabetes. The other two are minerals: magnesium, which is associated also with lowering the risk for type 2 diabetes, and chromium.
Research findings
A clinical review and analysis of 28 studies (involving 1,109,270 persons, 45,335 were diabetics, all followed-up for 20 years) led by Harvard School of Public Health shows that “those who increase the amount of coffee they drank by more than one cup per day over a four-year period has an 11 percent lower risk for Type 2 Diabetes compared to those who made no changes to their coffee intake.”
The findings were true for both regular and decaffeinated coffee. Conversely, those who decreased their coffee use by more than one cup a day had a 17 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Exercise and coffee
Other studies investigated the effect of exercise on caffeine consumption among those with type 2 diabetes. The findings revealed that “those who had 40 minutes of physical exercise had significant reduction in their blood sugar levels compared to other groups….Their findings suggest that caffeine coupled with prolonged exercise could reduce blood sugar levels.” Indirectly, this suggests that among non-diabetics, exercise and coffee provide health benefits.
Drinking limit
The Mayo Clinic recommends no more than three to five cups of coffee a day for those who enjoy coffee. Drinking more than that can cause serious effects in some people, like a fast heartbeat, heart irregularity, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, stomach distress, muscle tremors and insomnia. While some people can tolerate more than five cups a day, it is advisable to heed this limit above. Coffee, just like other chemicals in medications, can affect people differently, even their blood sugar levels. As always, if in doubt, we suggest discussing your health concerns with your physician.
Summary
Water is still the best drink for all of us, especially for those with Type 2 diabetes. Drinking coffee, regular or decaffeinated, appears to confer good health benefits to both non-diabetics and diabetics alike. For non-diabetics, the glucose and A1c levels are not dramatically increased with three to five cups of coffee a day with cream and sugar.
For those with diabetes, who are religious with their medications, drinking the same amount a day, especially without cream and sugar, will have a small instant spike of glucose level. The glucose level will taper off and not adversely affect the A1c level either, as long as this beverage is included in the prescribed daily caloric intake of the individual.
The other benefits of coffee drinking under a continuing clinical study include improvement among individuals with an attention deficit disorder, minimizing risk for depression, and lowering the risk for cardiovascular diseases, liver diseases, Parkinson, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer..
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email: [email protected]
