Caffeine - Good, Bad or Indifferent???
 

Hi, I'm not new to low carb, and am currently working pretty much the Atkins plan. I know he was against caffeine, I think his reasons were it messes with your blood sugar and causes cravings.
I am a massive caffeine junkie at times (usually when i'm burning the candle at both ends) - for quite a while now tho, I've been managing half-caf ok...I have two big cups of half-caffeinated/half-regular coffee in the mornings. I LOVE GOOD COFFEE, AND DECAF JUST HAS A NASTY FLAVOR & WON'T DO. Half caf is the best i can do.

What are YOUR experiences/opinions/information regarding the EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE WHILE ON A LOW CARB PLAN?

Thanks :)

I can't talk about the Atkins plans, but I also LOVE coffee and I have a mug of half caf in the morning. If I have anything after that it is decaf. It does not seem to ahve affected me, but I bet this is a YMMV issue.

I have found some very good decafs. I like it very strong, and some of the starbucks roasts are good but my fav is Peets Coffee.

good luck-
E

Cool - Thanks for the Info about Peet's - my grocer carries it but i've never tried it. will do now. tyvm

I have been trying to give up caffeine this time low carbing with little success so far. I've lost weight despite having a few cups of coffee everyday in the morning. Lately I am having problems so I too am starting to refocus on the caffeine as a contributor to my stagnation. I might try to go cold turkey on the morning coffee at New Year. I'm definitely a coffee addict.

Caffeine is now known not to be a problem. When Atkins wrote his books it was believed that caffeine raised insulin levels.

What a relief! thanks! :thup:

You use caps lock a lot, so perhaps you could use a little less caffeine :D

I quit coffee for a couple of months just to see if it made a difference. It did not. I love coffee.

HA, yes, I'm sure you are right :agree:

It's gotta be a YMMV thing, absolutists notwithstanding. Caffeine has never interfered for me, but 1) I was younger the other two times I low-carbed and 2) this time I was already drinking much less coffee before I started. The amount of coffee that works best for you is the right amount for you.

Meg

Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;87(5):1254-61.

Caffeinated coffee consumption impairs blood glucose homeostasis in response to high andlow glycemic index meals in healthy men.

BACKGROUND: The ingestion of caffeine (5 mg/kg body weight) and a 75-g oral glucose load has been shown to elicit an acute insulin-insensitive environment in healthy and obese individuals and in those with type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE: In this study we investigated whether a similar impairment in blood glucose management exists when coffee and foods typical of a Western diet were used in a similar protocol. DESIGN: Ten healthy men underwent 4 trials in a randomized order. They ingested caffeinated (5 mg/kg) coffee (CC) or the same volume of decaffeinated coffee (DC) followed 1 h later by either a high or low glycemic index (GI) cereal (providing 75 g of carbohydrate) mixed meal tolerance test. RESULTS: CC with the high GI meal resulted in 147%, 29%, and 40% greater areas under the curve for glucose (P < 0.001), insulin (NS), and C-peptide (P < 0.001), respectively, compared with the values for DC. Similarly, with the low GI treatment, CC elicited 216%, 44%, and 36% greater areas under the curve for glucose (P < 0.001), insulin (P < 0.01), and C-peptide (P < 0.01), respectively. Insulin sensitivity was significantly reduced (40%) with the high GI treatment after CC was ingested compared with DC; with the low GI treatment, CC ingestion resulted in a 29% decrease in insulin sensitivity, although this difference was not significant. CONCLUSION: The ingestion of CC with either a high or low GI meal significantly impairs acute blood glucose management and insulin sensitivity compared with ingestion of DC. Future investigations are warranted to determine whether CC is a risk factor for insulin resistance.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...Pubmed_RVDocSum

Metabolism. 2007 Dec;56(12):1694-8.

Metabolic and hormonal effects of caffeine: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.

In short-term studies, caffeine has been shown to increase insulin levels, reduce insulin sensitivity, and increase cortisol levels. However, epidemiological studies have indicated that long-term consumption of beverages containing caffeine such as coffee and green tea is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. There is a paucity of randomized studies addressing the metabolic and hormonal effects of consuming caffeine over periods of more than 1 day. We evaluated the effect of oral intake of 200 mg of caffeine taken twice a day for 7 days on glucose metabolism, as well as on serum cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and androstenedione, and on nighttime salivary melatonin. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study with periods of 7 days and washouts of 5 days comparing caffeine with placebo capsules was conducted. Participants were 16 healthy adults aged 18 to 22 years with a history of caffeine consumption. Blood samples from each subject were assayed for glucose, insulin, serum cortisol, DHEA, and androstenedione on the eighth day of each period after an overnight fast. Nighttime salivary melatonin was also measured. Insulin levels were significantly higher (by 1.80 microU/mL; 95% confidence interval, 0.33-3.28) after caffeine intake than after placebo. The homeostasis model assessment index of insulin sensitivity was reduced by 35% (95% confidence interval, 7%-62%) by caffeine. There were no differences in glucose, DHEA, androstenedione, and melatonin between treatment periods. This study provides evidence that daily caffeine intake reduces insulin sensitivity; the effect persists for at least a week and is evident up to 12 hours after administration.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...Pubmed_RVDocSum

Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2006 Aug;65(2):223-8. Links

Metabolic effects of caffeine ingestion and physical work in 75-year old citizens. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study.

OBJECTIVE: Whereas caffeine has been demonstrated to impact substantially on the metabolic response to exercise in healthy young subjects, this issue remains to be addressed in healthy elderly subjects. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: The metabolic response to caffeine ingestion (6 mg/kg) and exercise in healthy elderly citizens at 70 years was examined in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. We included 30 subjects attending for driver license renewal at their general practitioner. Participants abstained from caffeinated drinks and food for 48 h and were randomized to receive placebo-caffeine or caffeine-placebo with 1 week between sessions. MEASUREMENTS: A cycling endurance test at 65% of the expected maximal heart rate was performed 1 h after intervention. Blood samples were taken before intervention, before cycling, after 5 min of cycling, and at exhaustion. Analysis was by intention-to-treat and P < 0.05 was regarded as significant. RESULTS: Caffeine significantly increased the concentration of plasma epinephrine (by 42%, 39%, and 49%), serum-free fatty acids (by 53%, 44%, and 50%), and plasma lactate (by 46%, 36%, and 48%), and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment-IR) (by 21%, 26%, and 23%) during rest, after 5 min of cycling, and at exhaustion. At exhaustion, the concentration plasma norepinephrine was elevated by 29%. A decrease was seen with caffeine treatment in blood potassium after 5 min of cycling and at exhaustion (by 3% and 2%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Caffeine treatment increased epinephrine, fatty acids, lactate and norepinephrine at different times during test session and led to insulin-resistance. Hence, caffeine ingestion elicits a similar metabolic response in elderly participants at 70 years old to that seen in younger subjects.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...Pubmed_RVDocSum