Your Morning Coffee is Lying to You

You wake up, you haven't eaten a single thing, and your blood sugar is already climbing. No breakfast, no juice, no snacks, just coffee. And your glucose monitor is going crazy, especially if you're already cesium, right? So you're not imagining it, coffee is doing that, right? And I'm going to explain exactly why, and more importantly, how to fix it without giving up your coffee. Obviously Dawn Phenomenon is a problem, and a lot of people may have it without the coffee, but coffee just exaggerates the problem a lot more. Because I know you're not giving it up, right? The coffee? More than likely not. My patients never do. But I'll give you some tips. So as you know, I'm Dr. Ergen, you're a Necronologist, so let's get into it. So here's coffee is actually doing to you. So coffee triggers your adrenal glands to release adrenaline. That is a fight or flight. So your body thinks something exciting or dangerous is happening. So it dumps glucose into your bloodstream for quick energy. But here's the problem. Adrenaline also blocks insulin from doing its job. So now you have rising blood sugar and a blocked insulin. That is a double hit before 8am. And there's more. Caffeine blocks a molecule in your body called adenosine. Adenosine plays a big role in how much insulin your pancreas produces. Block it and insulin output drops. So blood sugar climbs higher, right? So one study gave people with type 2 diabetes 250 milligrams of caffeine, roughly two cups of coffee with breakfast and lunch. And their blood sugar ran easy, 10% higher all day compared to caffeine days. And the biggest spike is obviously in the morning after first drinking it. Not a little higher, 10% is a big number. Now, here's what makes mornings especially brutal. Your body, like I said, already naturally spikes the cortisol and adrenaline when you wake up, which we call cortisol awakening response. So coffee on top of that, you're basically pouring gasoline on a fire that was already burning. So should you quit coffee? Absolutely not. Here's what you should actually do. Number one fix I would say, stop using Robusta beans. Most people have no idea that there are two types of coffee beans, Arabica and Robusta, right? Robusta has twice the caffeine of Arabica, twice. And guess what is stuffed inside most cheap grocery store blends and a lot of espresso? Robusta. So switch to 100% Arabica. It is labeled right on the back. This one change right there alone, cuts your caffeine load significantly while keeping the taste you love, just switching that type. Now, if your espresso blend does not say 100% Arabica, it probably is not. Fix number two, go darker. Dark roast coffee contains less caffeine than light roast when measured by the scoop. And here's why. Dark roasting expands the The bigger the beans, the fever fit in your scoop. Less caffeine per cup. It is not a dramatic difference, but every bit counts. Plus dark roast tastes pretty good. Now, number three fix or third fix is cold brew. That's your best friend. Cold brew contains 30% less caffeine than regular drip coffee. You make it by soaking coarse grounds in room temperature in the water overnight, obviously, straining it and storing it in the fridge for two weeks. Very good. So you don't have to make coffee every morning. It is low acid, very smooth and easy on your stomach. So people who try almost always stick with that. So why not give it a shot? Fix number four for you is make the Americano trick. Basically work for you. Trick is already there. So order or make a single shot espresso, which is only 50 to 64 milligrams of caffeine, and then add four to five ounces of hot water. So a splash of cream. That's it. You have a full mug of coffee for a Most people cannot even tell the difference in a blind taste test. Fix number five, brew it short. A longer brewing time equals more caffeine extracted, period. Espresso is brewed fast, despite what people think it is actually lower in caffeine per serving than drip coffee. So slow drip coffee sits in contact with the water the longest and pulls the most caffeine out. So if you are using a drip machine, shorten the brew or reduce your grounds slightly. Fix number six, walk after you drink it. This one is free, right? It requires zero changes to your coffee routine. Take your coffee and go for a 15 to 20 minute walk. Your muscles will absorb the blood sugar directly. No insulin is needed. So the adrenaline spike from coffee actually becomes useful when your muscles are moving. So you are working with your biology instead of against it. This alone flattens that morning glucose spike significantly. Now fix number seven, eat protein first. If you're going to sit and drink your coffee, I would say eat something high in protein, such as eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese. This protein slows glucose absorption and blunts the insulin resistance effect from caffeine. A high fat, high protein meal changes everything about how your body handles that early caffeine hit. Bottom line, coffee doesn't have to be your enemy. You just need to be smarter about that the bean that you're using, the way you're brewing it, and what you're doing right after you drink it. So arabica beans, dark roast, cold brew, walk after. Eat protein and stack those five things and your morning blood sugar will look completely different within a week. Dr. Ahmed Ergin, now please go make a better cup of coffee for me and maybe one day we'll drink it together. See me in Port Samuel City, Florida in my practice. Talk to you later.