(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-28 21:58

On days when the participants were given four tablets containing caffeine equivalent to four cups of coffee, their average daily sugar levels rose 8 percent compared to days when the same people were given four placebo tablets, the researchers reported in the journal Diabetes Care.

"What we are really showing here is that when people with type-2 diabetes who are regular coffee drinkers drink coffee, it produces an elevation in their glucose throughout the day above what it is if they don't have caffeine," Lane said.

"This suggests that people with diabetes might want to avoid coffee and other caffeinated beverages so that this exaggeration doesn't occur. They may find that it's easier for them to keep their glucose down if they avoid caffeine."

Lane cited two possible explanations.

Caffeine may interfere with the process that transports glucose from the blood into muscle and other cells in the body to be burned as fuel, he said. Caffeine also triggers the release of the hormone adrenaline, which can elevate blood sugar levels, he said.

A number of studies have provided various results about the health effects of caffeine.

For example, US researchers reported last Monday that pregnant women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day have twice the risk of a miscarriage as those who avoid caffeine. Other US researchers reported the next day that caffeine may lower a woman's chances of developing ovarian cancer.

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