Ziay!

asanawoman

I have hypoglycemia. When I drink coffee, my blood sugar levels seem to drop in relation. Can anyone tell me if this is causal?

Stoddard

Quick answer: maybe. Current evidence suggests that caffine enhances the warning symptoms, rather than causing a drop in blood sugar levels.

At this time, the evidence is not quite strong enough to be, _scientifically speaking_, considered causal -- especially in a non-diabetic person. However, the preliminary evidence is very suggestive of such a link.

EVIDENCE:
In a man with diabetes, "excessive coffee ingestion was associated with marked hyperglycaemia." (#1 - case report of only one individual)

"In type 1 diabetes, caffeine has been reported to enhance the symptomatic and hormonal responses to hypoglycaemia." (#1)

"Ingestion of modest amounts of caffeine enhances the intensity of hypoglycemia warning symptoms in patients with type 1 diabetes without altering the prevailing standard of glycemic control or increasing the incidence of severe hypoglycemic episodes." (#2. Only 34 patients in test: not a large enough population for making a causal link.)

"In healthy volunteers and patients with type 1 diabetes, acute ingestion of modest amounts of caffeine (250-400 mg, which is equivalent to 2-4 cups of drip-brewed coffee) markedly enhances the intensity of warning symptoms and the usual hormonal counterregulatory response to clamped hypoglycemia under laboratory conditions. However, although the perception of hypoglycemia is augmented by prior caffeine ingestion, whether low blood glucose levels will become associated with warning symptoms if caffeine is used on a daily basis is unclear." (#2. The time frame was only three months, again, not sufficient for a conclusive connection.)

Eagle_Kiwi

Don't vote for my answer. The answer above looks remarkably informative.

No further answer is needed, but a second answer is the only way to close the question.