I love coffee. I love the smell of freshly ground beans, the process of making coffee and learning all I can about how the bean is grown, harvested and roasted. My favourite coffees are organic fair trade from Africa I occasionally treat myself to something at the more expensive end of the spectrum. Whenever I can I spoil myself with a pound or two of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee or Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The best lots of Blue Mountain coffee are noted for their mild flavour and lack of bitterness. Over the last several decades, this coffee has developed a reputation that has made it one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world; over 80% of all Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is exported to Japan. (via Wikipedia)
Since it is expensive I drink it only occasionally. Most of the time I drink Ethiopian Harrar which can retain the distinctive flavours of the coffee berry. Because I am so into coffee - I'm the Foursquare mayor of the local coffee shop, Buy the Cup - a lot of my close friends and family often ask how coffee affects my diabetes. I assumed it didn't since I've never noticed any effect on blood glucose (BG). But I did some poking around the Internet and found out about some research at Harvard University that show the effects of caffeine on people with Type 2 diabetes.
Apparently long-term consumption of caffeinated coffee has been linked to a reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes in adults.
The researchers also found that for men, those who drank more than six cups of caffeinated coffee per day reduced their risk for type 2 diabetes by more than 50% compared to men in the study who didn’t drink coffee. Among the women, those who drank six or more cups per day reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 30%.
Yikes! If I drink that much coffee in a single day I think I would be bouncing off the walls. So, yes, that cup in the morning and your afternoon latte might be beneficial for your diabetes but only if you want to behave like Speedy Gonsalves. Speaking lattes, I think I'll walk over to the Wegman's for that afternoon cup. But first, time to do the Big Blue Test.
Roaster: Rockaffe
