Coffee & Carbs – Don’t Combine (If you don’t want to get fat)
The headline sounds pretty scary for those of us who drink coffee right? But is mixing your daily (or more) cup of coffee with a plateful of carbs such a bad combination? Today I hope to give you a little insight into the things I have learned that will make you think twice about mixing the two.
On one of the few workshops I went to with Phil Richards he spoke briefly about how mixing carbs with coffee was a really bad mixture and they both competed for the same receptor sites. I wasn’t a big coffee drinker I didn’t ask to expand but I have read a lot on this topic since and I think it’s a combination you definitely need to avoid.
Most coffee drinkers drink at least more than 1 cup per day, some even 10x that amount. This alone increases insulin resistance, a situation in which the body cannot effectively deliver glucose into the cells of the body. Therefore insulin cannot do its job because the body’s cells are less receptive.
When combined with a diet high in carbohydrates the body must release even more insulin to try to bring the glucose to the cells. The body becomes less sensitive to insulins effects (not good) and the by-product of this is fat gain due to the amount of circulating glucose in the body.
According to research at Canada’s University of Guelph. Participants were given a carbohydrate snack, such as a croissant, muffin, or toast, together with either decaf or coffee. Those having the coffee/carb combo had triple the increase in blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels was almost halved.
According to Dr. Patrick Holford – “We surveyed 34,000 people and found that the two foods that most predict fatigue and stress are caffeinated drinks and sugary foods. Every day Britons drink 70 million cups of coffee – roughly two each per adult. Many get caught in the sugar, nicotine, caffeine trap, thinking this combination is good for energy. But our research suggests that this combination feeds increasing fatigue, anxiety, and weight gain”
A study in the February 2013 issue of “Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism” reports that caffeine slightly raises blood sugar levels and impairs insulin action. What does this mean in terms of weight loss? Blood sugar, also known as glucose, determines if your body stores fat or burn it as energy. When our blood sugar is elevated, our pancreas produces insulin which moves the sugar to the cells. A surge in this insulin tells your body there is plenty of glucose and to start storing it. The problem is that this surge will cause too much sugar to be stored and leave you feeling tired, hungry, and craving more sugar, which is the beginning of a vicious cycle of craving and eating more than your body actually uses — leading to weight gain.
We should always try to make our bodies as insulin sensitive as possible and avoid the things that make our bodies more insulin resistant. When we edge towards being insulin resistant, we store more fat, gain weight and push closer to diabetes.
Caffeine in moderation is likely not a problem for most people and in fact, has numerous health benefits although Dr. Robert Atkins believed that caffeine adversely affected blood sugar which will lead to sugar cravings. Caffeine can be a great pre-exercise stimulant if used correctly. But the problems occur when people overdrink it and build up tolerance levels to it meaning the effects will be diminished.
The best way to get it working in your favour is to take a long break from it. Many of caffeine’s effects, including fat burning, strength benefits, etc are subject to tolerance, and may not occur in people used to caffeine, no matter how large the dose is.
For overweight people and those carrying a lot of fat on the midsection cutting coffee especially when mixed with carbs would be a very wise move. Combining this with a properly designed exercise plan are simple steps you can do today to drop lbs of fat – especially from the midsection and also greatly improve your health. Book a free consultation with us to discuss your goals and how we can best help you by going to the form on the homepage.
Thanks for reading
Adrian Harper