Coffee containing caffeine, when drunk without added sugar, sweeteners, syrups, or other supplements, is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
For people over 60 years old with high blood sugar or prediabetes, a cup of unsweetened black coffee will be very different from a cup of coffee containing a lot of sugar, condensed milk or syrup.
Especially, if you drink coffee as a "delicacy" with a lot of sugar, the total amount of carbohydrates and energy of the drink may lose the advantage of pure coffee.
A maximum caffeine level of about 400 mg/day is considered safe for most adults.
However, this should not be understood as that people over 60 years old need to drink up to 3-5 cups per day. The amount of caffeine in coffee varies significantly depending on the type of bean, brewing method and cup size.
In older adults, a more cautious approach is to start with small amounts, monitor blood pressure, heart rate, sleep and blood sugar and then adjust.
Cafestol - a compound in coffee - can increase LDL-cholesterol and is more abundant in unfiltered coffee such as Turkish coffee or boiled coffee. Paper-filtered coffee and instant coffee contain little or insignificantly this compound.
This is especially noteworthy in people over 60 who are simultaneously controlling blood pressure, cholesterol and cardiovascular risk.
If you still like coffee, you can prioritize black coffee, sugar-free or very low sugar; moderate amount; avoid very high-caffeineated drinks; do not drink too late during the day if caffeine causes insomnia.
Caffeine can cause temporary increases in blood pressure, blood sugar and heart rate, and in some people cause palpitations or sleep disorders.
In particular, you should not take the safe caffeine level of regular coffee to apply to energy drinks or concentrated caffeine products.
For people taking medication for high blood pressure, diabetes or cardiovascular disease, significant changes in daily caffeine levels should be discussed with your doctor.
Thus, a cup of pure, controlled coffee cannot replace medicine, diet or exercise; but for many people, it is not necessarily a drink that needs to be eliminated from life.
