After my doctor diagnosed me with T2, one of the first things he told me to avoid was caffeine because it raises blood sugar levels in most diabetics for reasons unknown to modern medicine. I called it the “mystery spike” and ignored the warning. I need my four cups of coffee in the morning and Mr. Diabetes wasn’t going to deny me. I drink it in a big German beer stein and pretend it’s only 2 cups.                       

I also have a hereditary glucose problem for one hour each morning. My glucose level rises, then returns to whatever level I woke up with. This phenomenon happens to both diabetics and non-diabetics. Early after my diagnosis, I was shocked to get a 175 reading after I’d cut out caffeine that day. 

In the past, after my first reading, I would drink a tablespoon of lemon or vinegar in a glass of water and take a cinnamon capsule before I started my morning coffee binge. After my coffee I would take my 500 mg Metformin. That helped, but my reading was still about twenty percent higher than when I woke up. I always ate breakfast way over a 135 reading. The coffee spike was a bigger rise than most meals I measured a couple hours after I ate. 

About a week ago, I changed the routine. After I finished the coffee, I drank a hot cup of the red pepper tea. After making this change my reading two hours after the tea was LOWER than my wake-up reading. It wasn’t a lot—maybe five points, but for me, a reading under 110 before breakfast was a huge victory. It meant with a light aerobic workout, a few pushups and a balanced diet, my glucose readings would be below 100 for the rest of the day. 

Yesterday morning after I finished my coffee routine I gazed out the patio door and wondered if it was worth the extra effort. My glance caught a squirrel going through all kinds of creative acrobatic contortions to pillage one of my bird feeders. He wasn’t succeeding, but he wasn’t giving up. He clearly saw the prize and knew eventually persistence would win. 

 The little varmint probably understands exactly how I feel. 

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