Many folks start their day with a cup of coffee. It’s a kick of caffeine to start the morning. There are years of research about how it can impact blood sugar and the healthiest ways to enjoy it.
New research has identified three compounds in roasted Arabica coffee beans that slow down the breakdown of carbs. The compounds inhibit the α-glucosidase enzyme, so sugar enters the bloodstream more slowly.
The researchers roasted the beans to a moderate roast and extracted the bean’s oil that was rich in the coffee’s compounds to figure out what compounds were present. They discovered previously unknown compounds and found that three could help slow blood sugar spikes. The researchers said that coffee is not a treatment for blood sugar concerns as they were looking at extracts in a lab, not a human study. They stressed that it’s unclear how much of the compounds are in each cup of coffee or how much of each compound would be needed to see an impact in a person’s body.
The team, from the Kunming Institute of Botany, used advanced lab tools to study the coffee beans. They used nuclear magnetic resonance and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze the chemical makeup of the extract. That shows that, while scientists have been studying coffee for a long time, the research is far from exhausted. There are still a lot of aspects of the bean that we don’t know about.
While the researchers said that coffee is not a replacement for treatment, they are hopeful that their work could lead to “coffee-based functional foods or nutraceuticals” that support blood sugar health. Their future studies will test the biological effects of the newly discovered compounds when they are isolated in petri dish studies. Then they will evaluate how safe they are.
While coffee isn’t a treatment for blood sugar health, this might make you feel good about your cup of morning joe! When you look at all our blogs on coffee, you’ll see all of its proven health benefits, and maybe you’ll even reach for a refill! But remember, if you don’t drink coffee, you should speak to your doctor before making changes to your routine. Coffee is caffeinated and might not be a good choice for you.
