While regular coffee intake may help reduce your risk of some diseases, including liver cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, some research has shown that caffeine can have negative effects on individuals with type 2 diabetes. If you are diabetic and currently drink one or more cups of coffee per day, you may want to switch to decaffeinated coffee.
Blood Sugar Control
Studies have shown that caffeine may make it more difficult for type 2 diabetics to control their blood sugar. In a study conducted by Duke University scientist James D. Lane, participants who took 250 mg caffeine capsules at breakfast and lunch had 8 percent higher blood sugar levels than on days when they took placebos. These participants also experienced higher blood sugar spikes after every meal, including dinner, on the days they took caffeine. Lane suggests that other caffeine-containing beverages may cause similar problems. If you drink caffeinated beverages every day, monitor your blood sugar levels to see how it might be affecting you.
Decaf Coffee
Without caffeine, coffee poses no threat to type 2 diabetics or their blood sugar. In fact, Harvard researcher Rob van Dam suggests that decaf coffee may even help diabetics control their blood sugar. Drink unsweetened decaf coffee or use sugar substitutes rather than real sugar.
Other Free Beverages
The diabetes exchange system includes a variety of free foods, including foods and drinks with fewer than 20 calories per serving and 5 g or less of carbohydrates, according to MayoClinic.com. Unsweetened coffee or coffee with sugar substitute counts as a "free" beverage, according to MayoClinic.com. Other free beverages include club soda, diet soda, sugar-free drink mixes, carbohydrate-free flavored water, unsweetened tea and sugar-free tonic water.
Caffeine And Type 2 Prevention
While caffeine may have a negative effect on people who already have type 2 diabetes, studies have shown that drinking caffeinated coffee may reduce your risk of developing the condition, notes "Diabetes Forecast" magazine. In a study published by UCLA scientists in a 2011 edition of the journal "Diabetes," female participants who drank four cups of caffeinated coffee per day had increased levels of a hormone-regulating protein called sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG. Sex hormones have long been thought to contribute to the onset of type 2 diabetes.
