Originally Posted by Lori in Cali

A study done at Duke University discovered that coffee causes blood sugar levels to spike in Type II Diabetics. Now, they didn't test non-Diabetics, so we don't know how it impacts other people. However, Dr. Atkins always said that you can't lose weight on his diet if you're drinking coffee. He didn't know why, he just knew it to be true. I'm not diabetic, but I do know that I don't lose weight when I drink coffee.

When your blood sugar level rises, it causes your body to release more insulin. More insulin means that your body is converting more of the food that you're eating to fat. And fat is what you're trying to lose.

Participants took capsules containing caffeine equal to about four cups of coffee on one day and then identical capsules that contained a placebo on another day. Everyone had the same nutrition drink for breakfast, but were free to eat whatever they liked for lunch and dinner.

The researchers found that when the participants consumed caffeine, their average daily sugar levels went up 8 per cent. Caffeine also exaggerated the rise in glucose after meals: increasing by 9 percent after breakfast, 15 percent after lunch and 26 per cent after dinner.

“We’re not sure what it is about caffeine that drives glucose levels up, but we have a couple of theories,” says Lane, who is the lead author of the study. “It could be that caffeine interferes with the process that moves glucose from the blood and into muscle and other cells in the body where it is used for fuel. It may also be that caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline – the ‘fight or flight” hormone that we know can also boost sugar levels.”

It's something to ask your physician about. Above and beyond that, keep it in mind as you go through your weight loss. You may simply lose more by not drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages.