Hey Joel,
Interesting article. Is it possible that the fat-mobilizing and metabolism-boosting effects of the caffeine from the coffee may counteract the reduced insulin sensitivity effects?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Cheers,
Steve.
If you’ve been following my advice of including a good portion of your daily carbohydrate intake at breakfast, you might want to skip your morning coffee, unless it’s decaf, that is.
Why?
Well, the recommendation to consume ample carbohydrates at breakfast is due to the fact that glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity are at their peak in the morning – basically, your body is primed to “deal” with carbohydrates quite well during the first few hours of the day, and that ability continues to wane as the day goes on.
So where does coffee come in?
Well, quite a few studies have shown that caffeine intake acutely decreases glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, sabbotaging your generally “good” ability to process carbohydrates in the morning.
Here’s just one of many studies:
Caffeinated coffee consumption impairs blood glucose homeostasis in response to high and low glycemic index meals in healthy men.
Moisey LL, Kacker S, Bickerton AC, Robinson LE, Graham TE. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;87(5):1254-61.
Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
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 by either a high or low glycemic index (GI) cereal (providing 75 g of carbohydrate) mixed meal tolerance test.
CONCLUSION: The ingestion of caffeinated coffee with either a high or low GI meal significantly impairs acute blood glucose management and insulin sensitivity compared with ingestion of decaffeinated coffee.
In the end, decreased insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance = more insulin, less fat burning, and more fat storage; three things you DON’T want if you’re looking to shed those unwanted pounds.
Suggestions: If you’re going to consume coffee or caffeine in general, it’s best consumed at times in which you are not consuming substantial carbohydrate. This means ditching caffeinated coffee with breakfast in favor of decaf, and also avoiding energy drinks and other caffeine boosters during workouts in which a carbohydrate recovery beverage is being consumed.
Speaking of workout nutrition, my buddy Jayson Hunter just wrote a killer report about what you should NEVER eat after a workout – and you can download it for free here:
What to NEVER eat after a workout <——- Free Download
Question/Comment? Drop it below!
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
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Will coffee with protein meal kill me?
Hey Joel
So I should not have caffiene pre-workout if I’m going to have banana with protein post-workout?
Interesting! Thanks, as always for your info. Will schedule mine for mid-morning from now on. However I would love for you to do a report on decaf coffee – as there are suggestions that it may not be as good for us as we previously thought!
Hardly conclusive of anything really.
1. Sample size v small.
2. Were the participants trained/untrained?
3. Ingested caffeine amount providing 500mg of caffeine for a 100kg man – hardly indicative of the content of an average coffee.
4. How material was the glucose/insulin response?
5. Were the participants regular coffee drinkers? Caffeine intolerant?
6. What’s the likely impact of that glucose/insulin shift? Over the course of the day/week?
6. Peripherally have you considered what processing happens to coffee to make it Decaf?
Nick
Hi Joel
Why do all the fat burners on the market have caffeine in it then? Are they trying to slow down the fat burning process? I know for a fact that USN, Biogen and Muscle Science fat burners work and they all contain caffeine. I think its probably very high amounts of caffeine that has a real effect on glucose and insulin sensitivity. I burn fat twice as three times faster using a fat burner.
Your comments will be appreciated.
Regards
Richard
again someone is trying to make us give up coffee it is not the coffee that is the problem but what is put into the cup besides the brewed coffee. i make my regular coffee brewed with cinnamon and only add a touch of creamer to cool it so i can drink it without scalding myself. decaf coffee has a chemical in it from the processing that i avoid. if you want to decaf go with tea of any kind usually less than coffee, but if you are like me only the taste of a coffee will suffice.
That’s interesting…I gave up my 2 coffee a day (I usually have milk, but no sugar) habit for a week (no other dietary or exercise changes) and lost 1.5kg.
Not to mention the effect on peoples cortisol levels, another belly fat fiend
I always used to have a high carb breakfast with a large mug of strong coffee…and got fat…I don’t eat carbs for breakfast anymore, finding that a high protein/ green veg meal sets me up much better for the day. However, I still have the coffee with the low carb/ high protein breakfast. Are you saying I’d be better off returning to high carbs, but without the coffee?
Hey Joel,
This reminds me of the experiment conducted by Tim Ferriss about morning coffe, and how he discovered that when drinked with milk it raises blood glucose levels… could this be because of the caffeine effect shown in the study you mentioned?
Also, Tim Ferriss found that if he drinks his coffee with cream AND cinnamon this effect on blood glucose is gone. This would mean that I can still drink my coffe with breakfast as long as I use cinnamon. It is known that cinnamon reduces the meal’s GI, i.e. controls the insulin response. Would the use of cinnamon with CC be preferable over DC (me too, I’ve heard DC is not so healthy).
Was there any larger studies done. 10 people is hardly a study from what I am told. Normally medical studies include hundreds and thousands of people. Also was there placebo? Also what is your opinion then do drink a coffee as part of your pre workout routine just as you get up because you not eating any carbs then?
Interesting contradiction to the guys that recommend a cup of coffee before the morning cardio, before breakfast.
Would love to hear your opinion on that.
Thanks!
Joel – DOes this mean that it is ok to have the coffee prior to doing cardio on an empty stomach in the morning? Also – How does this match with all the fat-loss supplements that have caffeine as one of the main item for fat loss???????
what about tea? tea also contain caffeine, but does it have the same effect?
does it differ if the coffee is black or with milk? i love starting my day with instant coffee with milk and i don’t have breakfast directly after the coffee but may be after 2 or 3 hours…
I, along with Steve, am curiouos, because I thought a cup of joe before the work out, boosted your workout strength etc. and improved overall fat burning. What if your after-workout shake is mostly protein, and very low carb? Or should you strive to get some carbs at the moment, to replenish the muscles (ie, I like to put berries in my after-workout high protein shake) ?
I think that coffee (filtered) should be considered a treat, I tend to only have one after lunch.
But I love my morning coffee!
What about green tea with carbs?
Hey Joel,
I was wondering what your opinion is on John Kiefer’s writings. He states (basically) that fat burning is elevated in the morning (cortisol + elevated GH = muscle spared, fat burning increased…gross oversimplification), so people should delay breakfast for a few hours, and especially AVOID carbs first thing in the A.M. I won’t go through his whole argument here, but it is pretty interesting. Here is a link
Just wondering what your thoughts are. I can’t personnally do without breakfast, but the article is food for thought (pun intended).
Peace
Dmitri
One study with 10 participants…going to need a bit more scientific correlation to be reliable and conclusive.
I have an underactive thyroid so I cannot have even decaf coffee with my medication.I have it an hour after meds taken
I have a very slow metabolism and that seems to be why all the exercise I do still does not move my flab and fat from waist and belly area easily
What a great article!
Is there a better way to get caffiene then? Green tea okay or is caffiene the true devil here? My mornings are never going to be the same…..
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...