# Low Carb Coffee



## onemac (Dec 15, 2011)

OK folks - I'm type 2 diabetic and have started a low carb eating plan. It is said that low carb eating habits do not benefit from drinking coffee which has carbs, albeit not a high amount. I've searched the forums and using search engines has turned up very little so how many carbs does the average espresso or ristretto have? I'm aware that bean type, roasting times and age may affect the numbers but I'm looking for a ballpark figure to get me going.

Cheers

Al

PS - Lusty has gone stale and I'm having to grind much more coarse and stick in milk to drink. Time for more beans methinks.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Well bear in mind that only 1-2% of what is in the cup is from the bean, and the rest is water/milk.

Around 35% of a roasted bean's chemical compounds are caramelized sugars. The rest are mainly various acids and mineral oxides.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

There seem to be several studies that have come to light in the last few years, that suggest that drinking coffee is beneficial to glucose impaired & diabetes sufferers (I'm type 2 myself), some suggestions that it prevents glucose adhering to blood cells (increased plasma levels of SHGB), but equally as many people saying, "we know it helps, but we really don't know why".

I have not noticed any adverse changes in my BM levels that I can attribute to unsweetened black coffee, or espresso (in fact if anything, readings are typically lower). I have noticed a slight, occasional rise after drinking unsweetened cappuccinos (no syrup, sprinkles etc)...but I don't do that very often, so I wouldn't take that as conclusive evidence.

At work, a colleague kindly makes me a cup, or two, of instant Kenco...a spoonfull of Green & Blacks drinking chocolate (naughty I know) makes it really quite pleasant...again, no impact on my BM levels (people are different, so test yourself & repeat tests to rule out fluke readings).

I was recently hospital in-patient, sugar levels checked 4 times a day, lowest they have been...I drank 4-5 cups of (dreadful, weak, instant) coffee a day. No one suggested that I shouldn't (and they were very focussed on the diabetes, daily lectures/sermons).

Decaff offers no benefits.

I am curious...well concerned actually... about the low carb eating plan though? General consensus is that you should eat significant amounts of slow release, complex carbs with every meal, such as wholegrain bread/pasta, brown rice, chapathis, rotis (not naan) etc....No, not beer! ;-).

If you are on diet control, and one or two tabs of Metformin a day, it is possible that your Dr suggests there is no need to self monitor your BM levels, bollocks, demand he supplies you with a unit. You probably don't need to check levels daily, but it is a good idea to do so every now & then for a few day stints, to build up a record and look for any patterns in your diet/BM levels. Don't rely solely on "nutrional info" on food packets.


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

No one has published a scientific paper lately that has any conclusive proof of any beneficial or adverse affects of coffee in my opinion.

Recently studies by Harvard academics suggest a positive link between drinking coffee and mood and/or depression, reducing instances in nurses who drank 3 cups of coffee a day.

As far as carbohydrate content of coffee, I would say it will have a negligible affect on blood sugar being mostly water. Espresso is more concentrated but a much smaller volume. Don't count coffee in your diet unless you add sugar or milk.

But don't take my word, its not like I'm a Nutritionist or anything (I am).


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## CoffeeMagic (Aug 7, 2011)

There is some info on ICO website here


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## onemac (Dec 15, 2011)

Thanks for the replies folks. I've seen the 'drinking coffee reduces the chance of type 2' debate but in my case the horse has well and truly bolted - been type 2 for about 8 years. I think I may be safe enough with the 2 or 3 ristrettos I manage to produce daily - I just don't think it's something I can give up........

















@MWJB - am on four Metformin per day and one Glimepiride. Have a BM kit and monitor every few days at different times for a good cross-section of results but I feel lethargic during the day, don't sleep well at night, get up to pee 3-4 times a night, have really sore joints/muscles/hands etc and have a really dry mouth all the time. I spoke to the doc about this and he suggested a low carb diet - not a complete withdrawal but an average of 50 carbs per meal. Seems to work for other type 2's so I'll give it a go and see if the overall health improves. Thanks for your concern though.

Al


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## ripley (Jan 16, 2012)

hiya

There are no carbs in coffee made with water. If you add milk then you'll be adding the carbs. Whole milk has slightly less than semi an skimmed. Full fat cream has the least amount of carbs.

Incidentally, I've been on a low carb diet ( not health related ) since July last year. When It started to kick in ( about two weeks after starting ) my coffee consumption went mad. Filter no longer cut it and I HAD to get my first espresso machine ( a delonghi icona ) about Sept / Oct followed by a classic in Dec.

I started making them with fat free milk as that's what I was craving then I slowly stopped and switched to Americano style with about 50 ml of steamed milk on top.

I don't know if your Doc has given you a plan to follow but if he hasn't make sure you drink about 1.5 litres of water a day ( your coffee can count in this ). Low carb diets don't treat the kidneys too well so you need to up your fluid intake to keep flushing them.....

I live off egg whites, oat bran, chicken breasts, water and coffee now and have never felt better.

Best of luck.


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## onemac (Dec 15, 2011)

ripley said:


> I don't know if your Doc has given you a plan to follow but if he hasn't make sure you drink about 1.5 litres of water a day ( your coffee can count in this ). Low carb diets don't treat the kidneys too well so you need to up your fluid intake to keep flushing them.....


One of the main problems for me as I only have one kidney. I drink about 3 litres of water a day just now and I'm still thirsty but I could up it to 4 litres just to be on the safe side. Doc says HBA1C and BG's within range so we'll keep an eye on them and if any change then we revert to normal diet but he doesn't see a problem. Famous last words eh?

Al


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## ripley (Jan 16, 2012)

onemac said:


> One of the main problems for me as I only have one kidney. I drink about 3 litres of water a day just now and I'm still thirsty but I could up it to 4 litres just to be on the safe side. Doc says HBA1C and BG's within range so we'll keep an eye on them and if any change then we revert to normal diet but he doesn't see a problem. Famous last words eh?
> 
> Al


Watch and not over do the water as too much is dangerous. Try drinking sparkling water for a change and see if that helps quench your thirst. How's your salt intake?


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## golden1 (Jan 21, 2012)

I've been practically carbohydrate free for the last month. ~20 carbograms a day.

Firstly, a cup of coffee does contain a finite but small level of carbs. * However the boost you get from the caffeine really offsets the carb content of the coffee.. so it counts as zero.

The half gallon of milk in there too? That's a no no. fortunately we all drink straight 'spresso and americano#s right?

*Having double and tripple checked this however it seems that the official level is recored as being 0.000 0001% . Or at least below 1% of 1% and therefore can be listed as Carbohydrate free.

Secondly, make sure you keep well hydrated. I re-fill a 750ml water bottle about 3 or 4 times in a 12 hour work day, (But that's probably more due to the fact i work in a dry environment) AND have several cups of croffee thru out the day.

one thing you have to watch whilst on a Ketosis diet is that you can actually wash quite a lot of salt out of you, which will lead to a feeling of being thirsty, when your body actually wants salt, not water (But because your liver is producing ketones, you cant acually feel "hunger", so your body gets confused, and decides that it wants water.)

This can lead to a situation where you literally drink yourself to death.. You either end up with too little salt, causing your mussles to cramp up, leading to suffocation (you litterally loose the ability to breath) OR you in effect Drown in your own body (lungs filling with water, and water in the cavity surrounding the lungs).

If you find you're drinking a LOT of water, try getting some of those sugar free electrolyte tablets (check your local bike shop)

@ripley Body building or weight loss?

@


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## onemac (Dec 15, 2011)

Thanks for all the input folks. At the moment the three of us (that's the Classic, MC2 and myself) are involved in a work-up period in which the other two are doing their best to compensate for my shortcomings and to that end I usually end up steaming some milk to throw the more acceptable efforts in rather than down the sink. I confirm I'm a straight espresso/americano sort of chap who leans towards the stronger tasting end of the spectrum, it's just that since I started making my own stuff I can't drink coffee anywhere else other than the precious few places within 50 miles of where I live. The rest of the family like Starbucks for the cakes etc but I find that I'm drinking tea more in there now on the few occasions that we actually cross their threshold. As to the low carb thing - I've done a lot of research in the diabetic forums and it seems the results are impressive, especially in the sleep, energy, joint pain and overall well-being areas. In consultation with my doctor and dietician I start the low(er) carb eating plan on Monday. It's just great to know that I don't have to give up my espresso









Thanks again.

Al


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## Django (Mar 6, 2012)

Soya milk has a negligible sugar content, from what the trainers a my gym tell me. Maybe you could use soya for your milky coffees? I actually like the taste now! Not really in coffee though. Perhaps you might.


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## golden1 (Jan 21, 2012)

You'll find that you "kinda" notice the taste of soya milk the first few times you have it. just add a little more coffee (like you needed THAT advice!) for the first few. After that, you'll barely notice it.

Alpro do a "regular" a "light" and an unsweetened variety (Ok, and an organic one that's just more expensive) So far i cant taste a difference between the regular and the light, but the unsweetened one does taste different.

You'll find that the regular stretches more than the light, and both will fall flat around 65c.. so just don't get them that hot. They BOTH stretch a lot more than cow milk.. But soy-microfoam is pretty hard to find.


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## Django (Mar 6, 2012)

I've not actually tried foaming soya milk. Will give it a go today.

Not much point going soya if you're going to opt for the sweetened version!!!! Tastes awful anyway. Sugar is bad for you.

What do you mean by stretching? Interesting.


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