Cup of Joe

So, if you do know me. You know that I need to drink coffee every morning to function. I usually start my day off with a mug of Colombian blend and by ten o'clock I will need to make another stop somewhere around campus to refuel. I run on caffeine. I have done a lot of research on caffeine and it's effect through out my different classes. For example, for my nutrition across the life cycle class, I studied the effect of caffeine during pregnancy.

There are a lot of myths out there circulating out there about caffeine and diet. One of the biggest ones is that drinking a cup of coffee in the morning. One of the big supporters of this myth is Bob Harper, who is best known for his frequent appearance on The Biggest Loser. Harper has published his book "The Skinny Rules: The Simple, Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to Thin" which is a New York Times Best Seller. Harper claims that drinking caffeine boosts your metabolism. I like to believe that drinking coffee does boost your metabolism, but I am a bit skeptical.

After reading through a few different primary research articles, I had a really hard time finding anything credible that suggested a connection between weight loss and coffee drinking. I did find a study that was published by Diabetes Care, where researchers examined the connection between coffee consumption and the risk for type two diabetes. This was a prospective cohort study that lasted 8 years, where the consumption of coffee among the subjects was tracked through a food frequency questionnaire. The study concluded that those who drank two or more cups a day, had a lower risk of developing type two diabetes. The researchers made the claim that it was not the caffeine in the coffee, but a C-peptin that is found in coffee (regular, decaffeinated, and instant). The caffeine did have a positive effect and reduced insulin sensitivity, however the researchers did not think that this would be what is working to reduce diabetes risk as individuals do develop a resistance to diabetes with time.

The cohort was a group of nurses, which I found to be an interesting choice. When I first thought about why they would choose nurses, I thought that it would be because they are working a job that requires energy and alertness. I also think they chose the nurses as a cohort because they all have the same education and background when it comes to nutrition and health. I believe that using these individuals from the same profession would work in the researchers favor because they do not have to worry about education status being a confounding variable. I am curious if the study was replicated among a different cohort if the results would have been different.

So even if I can't buy into the idea that my metabolism is being boosted when I drink my cup of joe, at lest I have some confidence that I am preventing the development of diabetes. Even if there was not a significant benefit of drinking coffee, I still think that I would (just because I love it so much!).