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Issue No. 018 · Black Coffee
Black Coffee On Trial
Zero sugar. Zero carbs. My glucose monitor still moved.
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I drink it black.
No cream, no sugar, no fancy syrup. Nothing but roasted beans and hot water. I figured coffee was the safest drink in my kitchen… zero calories, zero carbs, zero guilt.
So I strapped on my glucose monitor and had a cup on an empty stomach at 7 a.m. on a Tuesday.
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+50%
Higher glucose response when coffee comes before breakfast
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Forty-five minutes later… my line started climbing. It was not a dramatic spike. It was a slow, steady rise of 22 points above my baseline.
And I had not eaten a single thing.
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Black coffee, empty stomach
Glucose rise in mg/dL from one cup of black coffee, no food consumed.
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Individual responses vary. This is one person’s CGM data, not medical advice.
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I checked the number twice. I scrolled back through the hour to make sure I had not snacked without thinking. I had not. So I sat there with my empty mug and one confusing question: where did the glucose come from?
Caffeine wakes up more than your brain. It triggers cortisol and adrenaline, your body’s fight-or-flight hormones. Those hormones send a message to your liver: release stored glucose now. Your liver listens. It dumps sugar into your blood even though you did not eat any sugar.
In other words, your body made its own spike, and the coffee gave the order.
This does not happen the same way for every person. Some people see a bump of 5 points. Others see 30. But a 2020 study at the University of Bath found something that may apply more broadly. When 29 healthy adults drank strong black coffee before breakfast, their glucose response to that meal jumped by roughly 50% compared to the same breakfast without coffee first.
The breakfast did not change. The coffee changed how their bodies handled the food. And these were healthy people, the kind who would never think to question their morning cup.
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Meanwhile… The Hack
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I ran my own version. Day one, I drank my coffee first, then ate eggs and toast. My glucose climbed 56 points from baseline. Day two, I ate the eggs and toast first… then poured the same coffee from the same pot ten minutes later.
My glucose climbed 36 points. Same beans. Same breakfast. Same kitchen.
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Coffee first, then breakfast
Breakfast first, then coffee
Glucose rise in mg/dL after the same eggs-and-toast breakfast.
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Individual responses vary. This is one person’s CGM data, not medical advice.
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☕
Coffee First
+56
Glucose Points
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36%
Less
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🍳
Food First
+36
Glucose Points
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That is a 36% smaller rise. I changed nothing about what I ate or drank. I just gave my body something to work with before the caffeine showed up.
My doctor never mentioned this. Nobody told me that my morning ritual… the one I have repeated for years… was setting my blood sugar up for a harder day. But here is the good news. Coffee is not the problem. An empty stomach is. And that is a problem with a very simple fix.
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⚡ Your mission this week
The Coffee Flip
⏱ 2 minutes
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Eat before you sip
Grab something with protein or fat. Eggs, cheese, a handful of nuts, even a spoonful of peanut butter. It does not need to be a full meal.
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Wait, then pour
Give your body a head start. Ten minutes is enough for your gut to begin processing. Then make your coffee like you always do.
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Notice the difference
Check in with your energy around 10 a.m. The jitters and the crash may both soften when your coffee hits food instead of an empty stomach.
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🎯 Your first win
Before your next cup of coffee, eat three bites of anything. That is the whole mission.
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Where this comes from: A 2020 study in the British Journal of Nutrition (University of Bath, 29 participants) found that strong black coffee consumed before breakfast increased the glucose response to that meal by approximately 50%. Caffeine may temporarily reduce insulin sensitivity and stimulate stored glucose release from the liver via cortisol. A separate Duke University study found that caffeine raised average daily glucose by 8% in people with type 2 diabetes. |
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Your coffee isn’t the enemy.
Your empty stomach is.
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★ Welcome to the revolution
Jackie
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