Eating fast food along with coffee elevates the blood sugar level, according to scientists of the University of Guelph in Canada.
Eating fast food along with coffee elevates the blood sugar level, according
to scientists of the University of Guelph in Canada. The elevation in blood
sugar level that normally occurs after ingestion of fast food is doubled by
caffeine. Higher blood sugar level for a prolonged period is unhealthy as it
can take a toll on the soft organs in the body.
During the study healthy men aged 20-30 years were given a ‘fat cocktail’
followed by a sugary drink, 6-hours later. Researchers found that the cocktail interfered
with body’s ability to clear sugar from the blood. The blood sugar level among
these men was 32% higher than men who did not have the ‘fat cocktail’. In phase
two, instead of the sugary drink men were asked to drink 2-cups of caffeinated
coffee and the rise in the blood sugar level was 65%.
Thus the results suggest that saturated fat when combined with caffeinated
drinks interferes with the body’s ability to clear sugar from the blood. This fat-caffeine
combo suppresses the production of enzyme GnT-4a which interferes with the
communication between the pancreas and the gut.
These findings are important especially for people who are at a risk of
metabolic diseases and type-2 diabetes. Therefore people with a risk of type 2
diabetes should limit their caffeine intake and instead opt for decaffeinated
coffee to improve the glucose tolerance. The study has been published in the
Journal of Nutrition.
Source-Medindia