Coffee

[ScottWagner]

Hey all,

Can anyone offer some thoughts as to the effect coffee has on blood sugar? It seems to be causing some higher sugars to me, which doesn't make much sense?!?!

Confused in MI,

Scott

[Mick]

I drink 5 cups of coffee a day. Black coffee has NO effect whatsoever on my sugars. I only use artificial sweeteners, which also have virtually no effect. Cream, milk, etc. CAN have some effect on raising sugars, but not too much, unless you're putting a half cup of cream in! Otherwise, coffee is not generally known to effect glucose levels.

Michael

[am1977]

I agree with Mick, I don't think coffee should have much of an effect on your blood sugars. However, if you are drinking coffee types of drinks such as those at Dunkin Donuts (Iced Lattes, Coffee Coolattas, etc) those could very well raise your blood sugar, b/c they have milk and sugar in them among other things. Also if you are just drinking regular coffee, watch how much cream and sugar you add if you add any at all.

[MarkMunday]

I used to drink 6-8 cups of coffee a day. And I was having similar sensations to being hypo - a sort of mental fogginess. The fact that blood tests were normal suggested that. That it must be something else.

I reduced my coffee consumtion to 3 cups a day and the fogginess went away.

Cheers,

Mark

[ScottWagner]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone! I guess I have something else to blame it on those few times! I usually use half and half and one packet of Splenda. I never take in to account the half and half, but it usually is only a tablespoon or so. Will try again today and see what happens! Thanks

[Belinda]

I use the flavored creamers and some of them have more carbs in them than others. So depending on which one I use I have to add that into my bolus for the meal.

[HeatherP]

Scott, count the carbs in the half 'n half. Also, I know a couple people that for whatever reason, Splenda makes their b/s go up even though it's not supposed too. You may want to try a different sweetener and see if there's any difference.

[KLD]

The granulated Splenda contains 1/2 gram of carbs per teaspoon due to the filler (maltodextrin) the manufacturer adds to make it measure the same as regular sugar. That doesn't sound like much in, say, a single cup of coffee, but it sure adds up if you're cooking with it (24 grams of carbs per cup of Splenda). I use liquid Splenda which is completely carb free. It's hard to find but can be ordered online. It seems expensive, but you use such tiny amounts that it lasts forever.

Here are a couple of sources that I'm familiar with; I'm sure there are others. The product is called "Zero Carb Syrup Concentrate."


American source: http://locarber.com http://locarber.com/

Canadian source: http://low-carbing.com/store/index.php?prodID=zcs-001 for "Zero Carb Syrup Concentrate"

Karen

[ScottWagner]

The last few post regarding sweetners motivated me to do some looking online about the common sweetners. Has anyone reading this heard of or tried Stevia? What I have read claims it to be much safter than all the chemical based sweetners us diabetics have grown to uhh.. love.. I guess :/

[KLD]

I use liquid Stevia for some things too, Scott, although there is controversy about it too, as there is about all the other non-sugar sweeteners. In Canada, it can't be sold in grocery stores as a food product, but we can buy it as a supplement in health food stores - don't ask me what the sense of that is! As far as I know, it's still banned in Britain, unless I'm out of date on that.

Many people don't like stevia because they feel it has a bitter taste. I think the problem is that it's so sweet that it's hard to measure as little as you have to use - people tend to use too much and that's why they get the bitter taste. I buy it in liquid form only and pour it by the drop. I've tried the powdered form, but it's almost impossible to measure small enough amounts that way.

As there's controversy about all the sweeteners, I use a little of several of them to spread the risk around. My favourite, though, is the liquid Splenda.

Karen

[lina]

coffee has no effects on blood sugar.i took 5-6 cups with zero-sugar
every 10days i did blood testing ,black coffee has no effects on sugar

[DeusXM]

I beg to differ. Coffee can have an effect on blood sugar. Some individuals find that caffeine causes their BG to rise, presumably because it stimulates some sort of liver dump rather than being actual carbs. It doesn't happen in everyone, but caffeine is known to be able to affect blood sugar.

coffee has no effects on blood sugar.i took 5-6 cups with zero-sugar
every 10days i did blood testing ,black coffee has no effects on sugar

Leaving aside the fact that testing your bg once every 10 days is useless at determining the effect of something on your BG, the above of course raises the question as to why you posted this:

http://www.diabetesforums.com/carbohydrate-calories/11945-its-more-helpful.html

coffeebreak usa providing special coffee for diabetes patients.it's has no effect on sugar and it's zero sugar coffee.http://www.coffeebreakusa.com/

[Mister Q]

I would say as caffine is a stimulant it could raise blood sugar, its like anything what is ok for one might not be for another. I know a diabetic who cant eat Melon without their sugar readings going off the scale, it does raise mine a liltle but nowhere as much as theirs, yet ice cream sends mine through the roof and they can eat it with minimal effect.

[rzrbks]

I have to cover caffeinated coffee + art. sweetner + creamer at 1:4

On the other hand, non-caffeinated coffee + art. sweetner + cremer at 1:15


It's a YMWV for some of us.


btw, caffeinated tea has recently started doing the same thing to me. Until lately, cuppa regular hot tea I treated at 1:15, now it's 1:4 same as coffee.

[Brenda A]

Hey all,

Can anyone offer some thoughts as to the effect coffee has on blood sugar? It seems to be causing some higher sugars to me, which doesn't make much sense?!?!

Confused in MI,

Scott


My sugars go up 40 to 50 on just 2 cups of coffee. My endo said that is normal. I drink my coffee black except when I have it iced.

[lilituc]

The last few post regarding sweetners motivated me to do some looking online about the common sweetners. Has anyone reading this heard of or tried Stevia? What I have read claims it to be much safter than all the chemical based sweetners us diabetics have grown to uhh.. love.. I guess :/

The best explanation I've heard for why people don't like stevia is that it tastes a tiny bit like anise or licorice.

I love it, though.

[Cyborg]

Coffee seems to affect people differently. For me, there is no effect on my bg, but I do bolus for anything I put in my coffee. :tee: