Next time you have an extra cheesy pizza - or any meal with a high amount of saturated fat - do yourself a favour and skip the coffee afterwards, say food experts.
An after-meal coffee could make your blood sugar levels soar. Photo: Getty Images, Kevork Djansezian
Why? Because eating foods that are high in saturated (or animal) fat is bad enough, say researchers from Canada, as it can make your blood sugar levels spike. But if you wash down your meal with a cup of coffee, the spike doubles.
"Saturated fat interferes with the body's ability to clear sugars from the blood and, when combined with caffeinated coffee, the impact can be even worse," says Marie-Soleil Beaudoin, one of the researchers from the University of Guelph. "And having sugar remain in our blood for long periods is unhealthy because it can take a toll on our body's organs."
The research, which is published in the Journal of Nutrition, suggests your blood sugar levels could be 65% higher than normal after having a high-fat meal that's followed by two cups of coffee.
"This shows that the effects of a high-fat meal can last for hours," adds Beaudoin. "So what you eat for lunch can impact how your body responds to food later in the day."
The solution, say the researchers, could be to drink decaffeinated coffee after a meal instead of having a caffeinated brew. And of course cutting down on saturated fats - found in red meat, processed foods, dairy and junk food - could help too, they add.