Coffee Creates More Than Jitters

This happened to me for years before I figured out what was going on.

I would get up early and get a large fully-loaded coffee. Since my life was a bit on the hectic side I would also supplement the "joe" with a nice tasty donut or scone. Hey it's hard to resist those little sweeties when they're calling your name while standing in line.

Needless to say I felt great and ready to go for the day--and that feeling lasted for about an hour. What happened next wasn't pretty. Dizziness, shakiness, sweating, weakness and panic. I had to eat NOW!! This was usually followed by quickly scavenging for more simple sugary carb food, mostly because that's what we Americans snack on. Just enter your local gas station convenience store and look around. Is there any real food in there?

Generally, the one shriveled up apple at the front counter isn't too appealing, especially amid the colorful labels with picture perfect delicious looking snack items.

Alas, another twinkie would only help for a short time until the panic resumed.

Eventually, I wised up. It didn't hurt studying physiology either.

What I was doing was taking a big step on the yellow twinkie road to diabetes. My pancreas was really pissed off and was gonna make me pay sooner or later.

So from a physiological perspective this is what was happening.

For one, dumping caffeine into your poor ole body is not a good idea. Why? Because caffeine promotes what is known as insulin resistance. What that means is that your cells need insulin to process all of the sugar (glucose) in your system. If you take in caffeine and a sugary food like donuts or just about any cereal you see in the grocery store your cells won't respond to the insulin. So your good ole pancreas has to work hard to get those lazy cells working and get that blood sugar back down to normal. It responds by secreting more and more insulin while getting angrier and angrier.

All that insulin eventually brings your blood sugar back down. Actually it really brings it way down. This is called rebound hypoglycemia and is what causes the feeling of desperation and other wierd symptoms. The symptoms lead to more carb consumption and the cycle repeats. Eventually your pancreas gets so mad it acts like a disgruntled employee and quits. This is called type 2 diabetes.

So to help solve the problem stay away from the fully loaded java. Do what I do and become a boring person--no exciting cappucinos, lattes and mochas, no whipped foam and little chocolatly sprinkles--just plain jane decaf.

Hey, you might even become famous. When I walk into my local coffee shop the barista relaxes, looks me in the eye then says to the cashier---that's decaf.

Also, don't listen to the sweet call of the scone or the muffled whisperings of the muffin. Perhaps a fiber laden whole wheat bagel or (yawn) oatmeal will fill the void (and make your colon happy too).

Your pancreas will be at peace and so will you.

Peace and Healing.

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