1. Coffee Increases Blood Glucose - Well, wake up and smell the coffee, so does everything else, including breathing.
People with metabolic syndrome/diabetes have a heightened stress response that is affected by absolutely everything, including the overnight fast, which causes them to wake up, from a peaceful sleep, with high blood glucose (Dawn Phenomenon). What can be more benign than sleep? Nothing. But yet it still causes high blood glucose, since stress hormones must be released in order to wake you up.
So, it is not surprising that coffee would do the same thing, as it contains caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and stimulants - well, stimulate - through the release of stress hormones. This causes for diabetic coffee drinkers to see an increase in their blood glucose. This increase varies amongst individuals because metabolic syndrome/diabetes manifests differently in everyone. Some people have a higher stress response than others. Remember, you will never be able to properly regulate your blood glucose as long as you are in taking caffeine. You would be surprised at how many diabetics caffeine has made.
The best way to avoid this is to drink decaf.
By the way, since we are on this subject matter, remember to keep in mind that metabolic dysfunction is not a disease of high blood glucose. It's a disease of improper blood glucose regulation, which causes abnormalities in insulin function through the erratic ups and downs in blood glucose, not by simply "having high blood glucose". Well, caffeine causes erratic ups and downs in blood glucose.
In order to acquire metabolic syndrome you need large disparities between highs and lows in blood glucose. High blood glucose, on its own, doesn't cut it. We know this because people who have genetic abnormalities, which cause them to have chronic hyperglycemia, do not develop insulin resistance nor metabolic syndrome. So, stop focusing solely on high blood glucose. That will cause you to not treat the condition properly and you will end up treating it like your doctor does. Diabetes is chronic and progressive when it is not treated properly.
2. Coffee Lowers Insulin Sensitivity - The heightened stress response caused by caffeine temporarily lowers insulin sensitivity.
This is because the lowering of insulin sensitivity is a vital part of the stress response. Remember, the goal of stress hormones is to raise serum blood glucose and insulin helps clear blood glucose. For this reason, insulin expression on tissues has to be downgraded in order to prevent glucose clearing.
Once again, the solution for this is to drink decaf. People with metabolic syndrome/diabetes should not be taking any stimulants to begin with, including caffeine, so this is a no brainer.
3. Coffee increases hunger and cravings - And so does breathing.
Let's be real over here, the vast majority of people who suffer from overweight/obesity are always having issues with "hunger and cravings". Some have no hunger whatsoever and some are hungry all of the time. That is completely dependent on their hormonal status.
As far as "cravings" are concerned, I have discussed before, on this blog, how eating habits of this sort are behavioral issues that oftentimes cannot be addressed with diet alone. If the person cannot take a handle on this type of obesogenic behavior, no diet will ever help them. They need professional help, which goes well beyond just diet.
Coffee on its own, does not cause "hunger and cravings", but if you are dousing your coffee with sweeteners, then you might experience this problem. For this reason, sweeteners, of any kind, are not recommended on this blog, nor are they a part of any legitimate protocol. The blood glucose abnormalities that accompany caffeine intake, can also affect appetite. Drink decaf.
4. Coffee Causes Sleep Issues - Negative. Caffeine causes sleep issues because it's a stimulant. That's why people drink coffee to stay awake, either to be able to continue driving for long distances or continue working into the wee hours of the night. Drink decaf.
5. Coffee Contains Mold - Oh please. This one has been debunked many times over and if you "do your Googles", you will find many articles on the research done on this.
Basically the mycotoxins founds in coffee are too minimal to be of any significance and they are found on a multitude of other foods, as well, not just coffee beans. You are probably exposed to more mold in your bathroom, than what's in your coffee.
This was a great marketing scam though, and allowed many people to sell supposedly "mold free" coffee, for five times the price of regular coffee, only to find that it contained the same amount of mold, or in some cases even more, when tested by an independent laboratory. Don't fall for this stupidity. No one has died or been maimed from mold in coffee beans.
6. Caffeine In Coffee Increase Androgens - Hmm, this probably explains that one long hair that continues appearing on my chin, no matter how many times I pluck it.... I don't think so.
Studies have found no linear association between levels of caffeine intake and testosterone in men, but there was a nonlinear association identified, among racial/ethnic groups and percentage of body fat. These associations are still being investigated in larger prospective studies.
But, let me make the investigation cheaper, easier and quicker. The more body fat you have, the more metabolically dysfunctional you are and so therefore, the more sensitive your stress response will be to caffeine. Stress hormones also affect other hormones, regardless of gender, as no hormone lives independently in the body. There is always a cross talk between the entire endocrine system.
So, it is not surprising that caffeine may affect androgens, in some yet unknown way, when you have high body fat.
Some racial/ethnic groups are much more sensitive to a higher body fat percentage than others and this is probably why this effect was noticed more in individuals of certain ethnicities, who were overweight/obese. Drink decaf and lose body fat.
7. Coffee Stains Teeth and Causes Tooth Decay - Coffee, and also tea, will stain your teeth. There are many foods, and even some medications, that stain teeth and some people experience this more than others. It really has to do with how porous your enamel is. The more porous, the more susceptible it will be to staining.
A simple way to resolve this is to rinse out your mouth, after drinking coffee, and have regular dental visits for tooth polishing.
Tooth decay only occurs when coffee is consumed with added sugar. There goes that clickbait title. So, this doesn't pertain to anyone reading this blog, as no one here should be consuming sugar of any kind.
8. Caffeine In Coffee Increases Anxiety and Can Affect Your Mood - Yes. Stimulants usually cause this. Like I have said, several times, above - drink decaf.
7. Caffeine In Coffee Increases Blood Pressure - Yes. Stimulants usually cause this. Like I have said, several times, above - drink decaf.
8. Caffeine In Coffee Leaches Calcium From Bones - This one is a blatant, outright lie. How how do we know it's a lie?
This "bone loss" association has only been found with cola and coffee, but yet black tea and other sodas, which also contain caffeine, have not been shown to cause any bone loss. Also, men are not affected by any of these beverages. This means that caffeine is not the culprit of the bone loss. If it was, it would produce the same results, across the board, and with every gender. So, what's really going on?
No one knows. They have blamed everything, from cola and coffee replacing calcium rich milk to the phosphoric acid in cola. But nobody ever drank milk like they do cola and coffee, so there was no true "replacement". Milk drinking is only advantageous for adults, not a requirement. Chicken and certain cheeses also have high levels of phosphoric acid and they don't cause the same effect.
The bottom line is that something else is causing this problem.
We can kind of guess at what it can be, even if they claim to "not know". People who drink colas usually have very bad, nutrient poor diets and overall unhealthy lifestyles. People who drink coffee, usually drink it loaded with sugar and also have very bad, nutrient poor diets and overall unhealthy lifestyles. After all, if you don't care about loading up your coffee with sugar, you usually don't care about eating Popeye's Chicken, every night, and never stepping into a gym.
Women are particularly sensitive to these unhealthy lifestyles because estrogen helps maintain bone health. This is why menopausal women are at risk for bone loss, since they have low estrogen levels. You have to make sure that your diet is on point to prevent bone loss, because hormone imbalances have long reaching consequences. Women who are overweight/obese and/or have metabolic syndrome have long been known to have sex hormone imbalances, which affect their menstruation and fertility. This can also affect their bones.
But if you are still scared of acquiring a sudden fractured hip, as you pour your morning brew - drink decaf.
9. Coffee Causes Gastrointestinal (GI) Issues - Certain people with Crohn's disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or other issues that affect the GI tract, find that coffee exacerbates their symptoms. This could be due to the high acidity in coffee, which temporarily changes their gut flora. People with these conditions are particularly sensitive to changes of this kind because they are already having gut flora issues. These people should avoid coffee.
10. Coffee Causes High Triglycerides and Cholesterol - There are two compounds in coffee, which affect the liver and cause it to dump out lipids into the bloodstream - kahweol and cafestol. Nearly all lipid abnormalities caused by coffee were linked to unfiltered coffee. So, how you filter your coffee effects how much of these compounds you end up in taking.
Paper filters have been found to be better at filtering out these compounds than other types of filters. Also, the amount of coffee you drink has an effect as well. Most of the lipid increases were seen in people who intake six or more cups of coffee a day. That is something you shouldn't be doing anyway.
Some people will be more sensitive to this than others, as everyone's liver function and lipid regulation is different.
Overall, in the context of a low carb diet, the liver will be better able to deal with these compounds and the effect will be minimal.
As you can see, only one group of people needs to give up their coffee and those are the ones who have GI symptoms, when drinking coffee, and/or are allergic to coffee beans. All of these other issues are simply addressed by drinking decaf coffee.
If someone out there wants to give up their coffee because they like flogging themselves, especially in public, that's their prerogative. You don't have to follow them or take on their obsessions, as your own. Let them give up whatever they want to give up, but don't let their guilt trip get passed onto you. Misery loves company, so don't pay it a visit.
Also, many of these people will blame coffee for your inability to lose weight, when in reality, it's their own failed protocols that are causing your weight stall or gain. Don't let them start removing items from your diet, willy-nilly, just so they can give you a quick and simple reply when you complain to them about complicated issues.
The only dangers that exist in coffee is caffeine, what's put in it and how it's consumed.
- Only drink decaf coffee.
- Do not consume coffee outside of your meal times. You shouldn't be drinking coffee during your fasting times. Period. There are no exceptions, ifs, ands, or buts to it.
- Do not add any sweetener to your coffee, natural or artificial. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. Your coffee should not taste sweet in any way, shape, form or fashion.
- Do not load your coffee with added fats. Keep to your daily fat allotment and don't let coffee drinking take you off that track.
- Limit your coffee to two cups a day, to avoid this issue.
Keep in mind that decaf coffee is not completely caffeine free but it has a significantly lower amount of caffeine than regular coffee. For this reason, keep in mind how much coffee you are drinking in a day. This also pertains to tea. Tea has caffeine so you have to get rid of it if you cannot find it caffeine free.
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