Each morning, tens of millions in India get up and attain straight for a cup of mattress tea — a ritual handed down generations, seen as comforting, even obligatory. However in response to biochemist and an IITian Manish Bhagwani, this straightforward act could also be harming greater than serving to.
“Why Morning Mattress Tea idea have to go away from India? I don’t know why you guys are falling for it,” he writes.
What follows is a pointy takedown of a behavior many don’t query — however maybe ought to.
“This unhealthy behavior will backfire quickly as a result of you don’t perceive your physique’s metabolism,” Bhagwani warns. His reasoning is rooted in how the physique prepares itself at daybreak.
“Earlier than you get up, your physique naturally will increase cortisol manufacturing,” he explains. “This surge in cortisol will increase blood glucose and with elevated glucose comes just a little bit elevated insulin in your physique too.”
He clarifies that this can be a pure and useful course of — it provides you the vitality to begin your day. However should you’re coping with weight problems or belly fats, that glucose-insulin response could also be exaggerated.
“You probably have weight problems or simply belly weight problems… likelihood is you will have insulin resistance… greater than 50% of city Indians now have insulin resistance,” he notes.
He urges individuals to trace their HOMA-IR ranges — a marker calculated by multiplying fasting insulin (mIU/L) with fasting glucose (mg/dL), then dividing by 405. “If the worth is above 1.8, then you will have scientific insulin resistance.”
By means of the night time, your muscle groups and liver convert glycogen into glucose, protecting your blood sugar regular. “By the point you get up, your mind, muscle cells, and tissue cells are all nonetheless nicely fed,” he writes.
So what do they really want within the morning? “Motion,” says Bhagwani. “Once you train, your muscle groups’ glucose consumption will increase… which makes them insulin delicate.”
“After 30–60 minutes of average train makes your physique swap its vitality supply from Glycogen to Fats burning. Which is blessings in at the moment’s time.”
However what does morning mattress tea do? “It places a maintain on this complete course of. Its sugar elevates glucose in blood after which insulin… which makes you crave extra sugar quickly after which you’re a part of a vicious cycle.”
His verdict is direct: “Science is evident. You don’t want tea/espresso upon waking up. You want Water, You want motion.”
