Another Benefit To Coffee: Insulin Sensitivity!

We have written before about the health benefits (and risks) of coffee; for most people, the benefits far outweigh the risks, but individual cases may vary:

The Bitter Truth About Coffee (or is it?) ← this is a mythbusting edition

Speaking of bitterness; coffee has abundant polyphenols, which means an abundance of benefits that we discuss in the links above and below this line 😉

See also: Why Bitter Is Better: Enjoy Bitter Foods For Your Heart & Brain ← while it says foods in the title, this does cover coffee too.

For mythbusting on caffeine specifically, enjoy: Caffeine: Cognitive Enhancer Or Brain-Wrecker?

There are also gut health benefits from drinking coffee, and what’s good for our gut is invariably good for our heart and brain:

Coffee & Your Gut ← gut bacteria do not, by the way, have a preference about how you make your coffee or whether it is caffeinated or not

Aaaaaand, we recently shared new research on how coffee appears to be protective against frailty in older age. We say “appears to be”, because it was a longitudinal study and so technically we cannot say categorically that the link was causal, but the association is very strong, to the point that it’d take quite some explaining if it’s anything other than the coffee consumption that caused it.

You can read about that here: Coffee vs Frailty!

Now, the latest: Coffee & Insulin Sensitivity (and how to do it right)

A large (n=7,453) study of people aged 19–64 examined coffee-drinking habits and insulin sensitivity, looking at markers including the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

For the women in the study:

• One cup of black coffee daily reduced HOMA-IR and fasting insulin by 26% and 21%, respectively.
• Two cups of black coffee daily were linked to a 23% lower risk of elevated fasting insulin or HOMA-IR.
• Two or more cups of black coffee yielded a 27% and 36% reduction in HOMA-IR and fasting insulin, respectively.

For the men in the study:

• In men, no significant associations with glucose metabolism markers were observed. Sorry.

For those enjoying cream/sugar in their coffee:

• In those consuming coffee with sugar and/or cream, no significant associations with glucose metabolism markers were observed.

You can read the paper itself here:

Association Between Coffee Consumption and Glucose Metabolism Markers in Korean Adults

Want to learn more?

French biochemist Jessie Inchauspé, the “Glucose Goddess”, had this to say about the topic of coffee and blood sugars (an adjacent topic to coffee and insulin sensitivity):

Coffee, From A Blood Sugar Management Perspective

Lastly… Want to stock up on coffee?

Here’s a store for Lavazza Coffee that offers discounts if that’s something you like 😎

Enjoy!