Drink Coffee After Breakfast for Better Metabolic Control

It is essential to maintain blood sugar levels within a safe range to reduce the risk of conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

International Coffee Day

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October 1st is celebrated as the International Coffee Day.

Coffee is considered as the world's most popular drink. Around 2 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day around the world.

. In the US, around half the population above the age of 18 drink coffee every day. In the UK, around 80% of the households buy instant coffee for consumption at home, according to the British Coffee Association.

Study Details

The study involved 29 healthy men and women. They had to undergo three different overnight experiments in random order. They are:

• Participants have a night of normal sleep and consume a sugary drink on waking in the morning
• Participants experience a disrupted sleep where the researchers woke them up every hour for 5 minutes, and they consume a sugary drink on waking in the morning
• Participants experience a disrupted sleep where the researchers woke them up every hour for 5 minutes, and they consume a strong black coffee before they consume the sugary drink on waking in the morning

In each of the cases, blood samples were collected from the participants after the sugary drink. The calories of the sugary drink were similar to the calories of a typical breakfast.

Study Findings

The researchers found that one night of disrupted sleep did not worsen the participants' blood glucose level at breakfast when compared with a normal night's sleep.

Strong black coffee before breakfast substantially increased the blood glucose level by 50%.

Previous research has shown that consumption of caffeine can cause insulin resistance. The current study reveals that drinking coffee after a bad night's sleep solves the problem of feeling sleepy; however, it could create another problem by limiting the body's ability to tolerate the sugar in the breakfast.

"Put simply, our blood sugar control is impaired when the first thing our bodies come into contact with is coffee, especially after a night of disrupted sleep. We might improve this by eating first and then drinking coffee later if we feel we still feel the need it. Knowing this can have important health benefits for us all,"said Professor James Betts.

The researchers think there is a lot more to learn on the effects of sleep on metabolism like how much sleep disruption is required to impair the metabolism and what are some of the long-term implications of the impaired metabolism.

In summary, it is better to drink coffee after eating breakfast than before because caffeinated coffee increases blood glucose levels when consumed before breakfast.



Source: Medindia