Could coffee after dinner be ruining your health?

You might want to re-think that after dinner coffee as research suggests drinking caffeine after a high-fat meal could send your blood sugar levels through the roof

If you’re prone to an espresso after a big meal or a latte after lunch, you could be putting your health at risk as experts warn that eating a fatty meal followed by a coffee could doubles your blood sugar level.

Researchers from the University of Guelph in Canada have discovered that fat affects the body’s ability to produce insulin and distribute it to the muscles causing blood sugar to rise to potentially harmful levels.

‘Ultimately we have found that fat and caffeinated coffee are impairing the communication between the gut and the pancreas, which could be playing a role in why participants couldn’t clear the sugar from their blood as easily,’ says study author Marie-Soleil Beaudoin.

The study found that those participants who received the equivalent of two cups of caffeinated coffee five hours after ingesting a fatty beverage had blood sugar levels that were 32 per cent higher than those who had not consumed the fat.

Further tests published in the Journal of Nutrition showed blood sugar levels increased by 65 per cent compared to what they were when participants had not ingested the fat and caffeinated coffee.

‘We have known for many years that people with or at risk of Type 2 diabetes should limit their caffeine intake,’ says Marie-Soleil.

‘Limiting the intake of saturated fatty acids found in red meat, processed foods and fast food meals is beneficial and drinking decaffeinated coffee instead of caffeinated can improve your glucose tolerance.’

REPORT: DRINKING TEA COULD AID WEIGHT LOSS

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