Caffeine may be dangerous for people with type 2 diabetes, a new study reports.
It can disrupt glucose metabolism, warns Dr James Lane, of Duke University, North Carolina, USA.
He examined several studies which show that caffeine has the potential to increase insulin resistance in people without diabetes, raising the risk of developing the disease. In studies on diabetes patients, it exacerbates the rise in blood glucose levels after eating carbohydrates, which could interfere with treatment.
Findings appear in the recently-launched Journal of Caffeine Research.
Dr Lane writes: "Type 2 diabetes is a serious public health problem. At least 17 studies have consistently demonstrated that caffeine administration in healthy, non-diabetic adults produces an acute increase in insulin resistance or impairment of glucose tolerance, an effect that could contribute to type 2 diabetes disease progression in susceptible individuals."
He adds that these experimental results contradict previous survey findings that heavy coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk.
"Although it is premature to recommend caffeine abstinence for patients with type 2 diabetes and for those at risk, the evidence is sufficient to warrant further study of caffeine’s effects, including clinical trials of the potential benefits of eliminating caffeine from the diet," he concludes.
Journal editor, Dr Jack James, says: "More than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes. The links that have been revealed between diabetes and the consumption of caffeine beverages (especially coffee) are of monumental importance when it is acknowledged that more than 80 per cent of the world’s population consumes caffeine daily."
He describes this study as "the clearest account to date of what we know, what we don’t know, and what needs to be done – urgently!"
Lane, J. D. Caffeine, Glucose Metabolism, and Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of Caffeine Research, Vol. 1, March 2011, pp. 23-28.
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