Can you do keto without coffee? Why not?


(Full Metal KETO AF) #86

I don’t think that’s what was implied! However the debate continues whether or not caffeine aids in breaking down fat (especially during fasting) or whether it makes it harder to lose abdominal fat. I am a follower of the first school of thought obviously. But maybe the reactions to caffeine due to genetics are varied and some fall into the second. And then there’s people like you who don’t like coffee at all and that’s okay too Carolyn. You seem to be doing fine without it. :cowboy_hat_face:


(Carolyn aka stokies) #87

Hahaha oh gods no! Just being a smart ass lol. But thank you :wink:


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #88

@FrankoBear Here’s some more ammo for you. Start shooting…


#89

Taking this topic in another direction. Caffeine may be added to soda pop/ soft drinks to make them more addictive.

My experience of starting a new job that is quite mentally demanding is that I went from one regular morning black coffee with breakfast to craving a strong coffee 2 or 3 times per day.

Has your coffee drinking increased on keto?

@amwassil, @anon24390425, @David_Stilley, @FishChris, @Shortstuff, @daddyoh, @PaulL, @Vega, @PetaMarie

  • Coffee drinking has remained the same since starting keto
  • Coffee drinking has increased since starting keto
  • Coffee drinking has decreased since starting keto
  • They will take my coffee from my cold dead hands

0 voters


(Wendy) #90

I’m not sure my vote is fair since I don’t drink coffee. Early on I had thought of trying it with fat and cream but never did. I’ve had coffee before, I just don’t like it, and at this point I can’t imagine why I’d want to start.
I have managed to give up pop though I drink LA Croix and the like quite often. Sometimes two or three cans. I like the fizz. Am I addicted or is it just a preference or a habit?


#91

While coffee is a one or two cups a week drink for me, my real caffeine consumption comes from Diet Mtn Dew. That’s about a 4 or 5 drinks a week habit.


#92

Has it changed, while you’ve been eating a keto diet?


#93

For coffee, it’s stayed about the same. Being in the South a major drink is sweet tea so that’s what I’d usually order at a restaurant.

So, caffeine consumption has stayed pretty much the same, I’ve traded sweet tea for Diet Dew.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #94

I’m not actually sure that going caffeine-free would prove anything. It can’t be caffeine that is the issue, because the only concern I have ever seen has been the effect of coffee on ketosis. Apparently tea and other drinks that contain caffeine have no effect on ketosis one way or the other, or the question would be about caffeine, rather than coffee. So that implies that whatever it is that gives coffee its (good or bad) effect on ketosis is likely to be present in decaffeinated coffee. Certainly there is no guarantee that it would be removed along with the caffeine.

I’ve gone caffeine-free two or three times in my life. As long as one can get past the irritability and the headaches of the first two weeks, one is fine from then on. And in these days of good brewed decaf, it is no longer necessary to go without the good, strong flavour of coffee.


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #96

This is very interesting.


#97

Agreed. Very interesting. n=1 need to test it with some blood glucose readings to see the duration of the effect. Thanks for researching Michael.

  • Coffee when fasted in the morning a few hours before breakfast.
  • Don’t consume coffee and carbs together.
  • Coffee overrides everything as it pushes the blood glucose spike.
  • Coffee is best in the absence of carbs. Best when fasted.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #98

That was interesting. I just had two cups and that is it till tomorrow after my blood draw. Getting a huge set of blood markers tested tomorrow from my cardiologist and don’t want to confound the tests with coffee.

I will have some green tea at noon today. Then that is it.

I think @carl said on an old podcast that one brand of coffee really spiked his BG levels. Maybe that was a brand of coffee with more than normal caffeine.


(carl) #99

It was Starbucks Espresso. Can’t drink that anymore. Now if I’m getting beans from Starbucks it’s Sumatra regular and Pike Place decaf.


(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #100

Thanks @carl. I stay away from that brand anyway. I like a milder roast.


#101

WOW! I did not know that about Starbucks!!! I’ll stay away from it from now on. I usually drink Cameron’s Intense French Roast, but, had purchased some Starbucks French Roast while it was on a wicked good sale at $5.99 minus another $1.25 w/ coupon.

Typically, I have about 1 large cup in the morning, with MCT oil and HWC. Another in a travel mug on the way to work - which I sip on more when I get to work than when I drive. (I drive a Jeep, and take the backroads. Drinking anything while I’m driving is neither safe nor smart.)
Sometimes, when I have sweets cravings (which is almost never now), I make a half pot of decaf in the afternoon/evening, load it with HWC and little sweetener, and it does the job.

I had gone completely caffeine free while on Atkins, and iI recall no difference in the speed of weight loss and belly fat.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #102

So let me ask explicitly: What is it in coffee that causes its effect on ketosis? Does anyone know? Are you all using “coffee” as a synonym for “caffeine”? If you are, then why don’t you ever say so, and why aren’t you also concerned about the effect of caffeine in other drinks? Nobody ever claims that tea has any effect on ketosis whatsoever—how does that work?

If it’s not caffeine that is having the effect on ketosis, then what other chemical in the coffee produces the effect?

Why will no one ever answer these questions when I ask them?


#103

Coffee.

Mortality.

lactate?

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1097/00004647-200010000-00012


(Susan) #104

At our house we just buy the Maxwell House or the Folgers -whatever is on sale at Walmart! When it is on special for $6.99 or less I buy 4 cans and that lasts us a couple of months.

I seldomly drink coffee personally; but my kids and my hubby do daily. We are on a tight grocery budget though, so we go cheap.


#105

Now this topic has died down, I can make some notes. Did an n=1 coffee experiment this morning.

I wanted to see what effect the coffee I make has on my blood glucose and blood ketones.

Wanted to test this from the shared video higher up the flow:

Method: blood sample from finger pricked tested on FreeStyle Optimium Neo. same finger prick site each test.

Dose: double espresso. Approx 80 to 90 mg caffeine

Results:
Time (min)
(*) 0h:00m 5.9 mmol/L (fasted blood glucose), 0.1 mmol/L ketones
(+) 0h:19m 5.7
(+) 0h:55m 5.9
(+)1h:10m 6.1 (licked finger = not clean sample)
(+)1h:13m 5.7 (cleaner finger prick sample)
(+)1h:25m 6.0 (licked finger = not clean sample)
(+)1h:25m 5.7 (cleaner finger prick sample)
(+)1h:45m 5.8
(+)2h:00m 5.3
(+)4h:00m 5.2 mmol/L (fasted blood glucose), 0.2 mmol/L ketones

I ran this test with a timer while doing low energy/ sedentary morning tasks = bill paying, computer work, reading through blood sample results and re-interpreting them to adjust for LCHF eating, listening to Lana Del Ray’s latest album. i.e. not confounded by exercise. All tests fasted. Break fast is usually 4h+ after waking.

Interpretation: Blood glucose gradually dropped from dawn phenomenon high in the morning (normal for me as am also still insulin resistant). Home blood glucose metre seems to read about 0.5mmol/L higher than lab tests. Have done a calibration test. No appreciable change in BG, except for gradual drop. Blood ketones increased. Interesting side note is that licking my finger befor taking blood glucose test increased test result by 0.4mmol/L. But when took sample from properly washed finger dried with a clean cloth, results were quite steady. Coffee I make does not seem to effect my n=1 blood glucose. No blood glucose spike detected. Maybe that occurs only when coffee is imbibed with a carbohydrate containing meal? Prof Ben Bikman would know.


#106

I will have to invest into one of these meters, I’m curious :slight_smile: