Toronto: Regular coffee with a cereal breakfast is bad for your blood sugar levels. In their study reported in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at the University of Guelph near here found that caffeinated coffee, even when drunk with a low-sugar cereal breakfast, sent blood glucose levels soaring by 250 per cent, compared to decaffeinated coffee.

Terry Graham, who led the study which was conducted on 10 male university students, said consumption of caffeine made the human body resistant to insulin, thus impairing its capacity to absorb sugar.

In turn, this leads to increased blood sugar levels which can be dangerous for obese or Type-2 diabetes people, he said.

Caffeine impairs the ability of insulin in the body to control blood sugar levels, he added.

However, Graham said caffeinated coffee with a cereal breakfast was fine for people with an active lifestyle and proper diet as their bodies can handle extra blood sugar levels.

But people with obesity or Type-2 diabetes should be very carefully about coffee consumption before or after breakfast as their bodies cannot handle elevated blood glucose levels, said Graham, who is professor of human health and nutritional sciences at the university.

As part of their study, Graham and his team monitored daily blood sugar levels of all the 10 male students who drank caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee alternatively with a low-sugar cereal breakfast one day and a sugary cereal next morning.

The study showed caffeinated coffee sent blood sugar levels soaring even when drunk with a low-sugar cereal breakfast. IANS