ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- For many people, life doesn’t exist before their daily dose of caffeine. But, according to a new study, that extra shot of espresso or mid-afternoon soda may undermine treatment efforts for people suffering from type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at Duke University Medical School found caffeine intake increases blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Using new technology researchers were able to measure participants’ glucose (sugar) levels consistently throughout the day. This was the first study of its kind to track the impact of caffeine for a full day as a patient went about his or her daily activities.

Ten participants with known type 2 diabetes were monitored for 72 hours. The first day of observation, each participant was given a caffeine pill equivalent in strength to two cups of coffee. One the second day, a placebo pill was given. Data showed when the participants consumed caffeine, their average daily blood sugar levels went up eight percent. Caffeine also heightened the spike in blood sugar after meals -- nine percent after breakfast, 15 percent after lunch and 26 percent after dinner.
 

“Coffee is such a common drink in our society that we forget that it contains a very powerful drug -- caffeine. Our study suggests that one way to lower blood sugar is to simply quit drinking coffee, or any other caffeinated beverages,” James Lane, Ph.D., psychologist at Duke and lead author of the study was quoted saying.

Linda Yerardi, a certified diabetes educator and registered dietitian at The Diabetes Center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, warns some diabetics may need to watch out for caffeine more than others. “If people are already sensitive to caffeine and then they develop diabetes, when the body reacts to a sensitivity it has an effect on the body and that can play a role in increasing blood sugar levels,” Yerardi told Ivanhoe. Yeradi also added that things you put into your coffee like flavored syrups and milk may add to an elevated blood sugar level.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Linda Yerardi, Diabetes Care, 2007; 10.2337/dc07-1112