For many, a cup of coffee is an essential part of the daily routine, providing a much-needed energy boost and a moment of relaxation. Beyond its stimulating effects, coffee has been touted for various health benefits, including potential weight loss. This article delves into the evidence surrounding black coffee and its impact on weight management, exploring the science-backed benefits, potential risks, and practical considerations for incorporating it into a healthy lifestyle.
The Potential Weight Loss Benefits of Coffee
Research suggests that coffee may have a beneficial effect for people who want to lose weight. Regular coffee drinking may help people lose weight because it contains caffeine, which can increase metabolism and inhibit hunger in certain people. Coffee contains caffeine, one of the few substances known to help mobilize fats from your fat tissues and increase metabolism.
A 2021 review of studies suggests that coffee can prevent and reduce fat stores in the body by different factors, such as its:
- Action on the gastrointestinal microbiota, which can influence obesity
- Influence on proteins involved in the production of lipids in cells
- Inhibition of adipocytes, which are cells in your body that store fat
Due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, coffee may also help prevent certain conditions such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
The researchers emphasized that the anti-obesity effects of tea and coffee were observed with consuming large amounts of the drink, or about 3 to 6 cups daily.
Read also: Smoothies for Glowing Skin
Coffee's Impact on Metabolism and Fat Mobilization
The rate at which you burn calories at rest is called resting metabolic rate (RMR). The higher your metabolic rate, the easier it is for you to lose weight and the more you can eat without gaining weight. Coffee intake increases metabolism by 5% to 20% in about 3 hours.
Coffee contains a number of stimulants, most importantly caffeine. Not only does caffeine increase your metabolic rate, but it also makes you more alert. The most important of these is caffeine, which is very potent and has been studied thoroughly. Many biologically active substances found in coffee beans find their way into the final drink, several of them can affect metabolism:
- Caffeine: The main stimulant in coffee.
- Theobromine: The main stimulant in cocoa and it’s also found in smaller amounts in coffee.
- Theophylline: This is another stimulant found in both cocoa and coffee.
- Chlorogenic acid: One of the main biologically active compounds in coffee; may help slow the absorption of carbs.
Caffeine works by blocking an inhibitory neurotransmitter called adenosine. By blocking adenosine, caffeine increases the firing of neurons and release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. This, in turn, makes you feel more energized and awake.
Coffee and Exercise: A Synergistic Effect
A 2021 review indicated that coffee seemed to have a positive effect on exercise and physical endurance. Researchers listed some of the following benefits: muscular endurance, movement speed, and muscular strength.
If consumed in doses of 3 to 6 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg ) of body mass, caffeine intake enhanced exercise performance in individuals. Caffeine improved performance in both trained and untrained participants. Apart from coffee, other sources of caffeine also appeared to have the same performance-enhancing effects during exercise. These included chewing gum, mouth rinses, energy gels, and energy drinks.
Read also: Guilt-Free Pizza
Exercise can also accompany a balanced diet in helping with weight loss and preventing obesity.
Potential Risks and Considerations
While coffee offers potential benefits, it's crucial to be aware of the potential risks associated with excessive consumption. High caffeine intake can have potential health risks.
According to nutritionist Nmami Agarwal, coffee can increase energy and metabolism, but too much of it can cause health problems like elevated cortisol and hyperacidity. Too much coffee, particularly when combined with milk and sugar, can raise calorie intake and throw off blood sugar levels, according to Nmami. Additionally, too much black coffee raises cortisol, which causes fat storage, water retention, and sleepless nights.
Excessive caffeine use can result in:
- Hyperacidity, which causes digestive problems
- Elevated cortisol levels, which could be a factor in anxiety, hormonal imbalances, and disruption of sleep cycles. These can eventually lead to fatigue and potential weight gain over time.
The Importance of Moderation
Nmami advised that coffee should be carefully consumed; limit intake to modest amounts and stay away from high-calorie additives in her recent Instagram post. According to Nmami, reducing consumption, particularly in the afternoon, can support improved general health. To prevent adverse effects, limit your daily coffee consumption to one or two cups. Coffee should not be consumed after 3 PM in order to avoid disturbing your sleep. Moreover, drinks high in calories, such as flavoured cappuccinos, should be avoided as they can result in an excess of calories.
Read also: Diet and Exercise Streak Interruption: A Guide
"The right dose makes all the difference," Nmami said in the caption. You may need more comprehensive nutritional support for your metabolism if you are consuming caffeine to get through your exhaustion, she added.
Individual Variability and Long-Term Effectiveness
Whether coffee or caffeine can help you lose weight in the long term may depend on the person and other individual factors, but research appears to support its benefits for preventing obesity.
A more recent 2024 review of studies highlighted all the current research on coffee and its weight loss potential. The researchers found that while some studies underscored the benefits of coffee and how it can promote weight loss through its polyphenol or caffeine content, other studies found no link between coffee consumption and weight loss. They concluded that limitations of some studies may account for these differences, such as:
- The participants’ dietary intake during the study
- Whether the participants were consuming coffee or caffeine prior to enrolment in the study
- The dose of caffeine the participants received
- The participants’ weight
Coffee may help with weight loss, but its positive effects may depend on individual factors such as dietary intake, activity levels, or response to caffeine.
Black Coffee: A Healthier Choice
Black coffee is simply coffee with nothing added - no cream, no milk, no sweetener. When you leave out those extra ingredients, you leave out the calories, fat, and sugar that come with them. That allows you to enjoy the health benefits of coffee without additives that aren’t as good for you.
Consider this: An 8-ounce Starbucks Caramel Macchiato has 120 calories, 15 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of fat. The same amount of brewed black coffee has 2 calories, no sugar, and no fat.
Maximizing Antioxidant Intake
There’s another possible, though minor, health benefit of black coffee. When you don’t dilute your coffee, you get the antioxidants and caffeine it contains at full strength. These components are thought to be responsible for most of coffee’s health benefits. But you’d have to add a lot of cream or sugar to weaken your coffee enough to make much difference.
Dark vs. Light Roast: Which is Better?
And what about coffee that looks blacker because it’s made of dark-roasted beans? It might seem logical that the darker the black coffee, the more health benefits it would have. Dark roast coffee has a darker appearance and fuller-bodied flavor than light or blonde roasts. However, the jury’s out on whether it’s better for you. For now, at least, it comes down to personal preference.
You can buy coffee that is blonde or light roasted, medium roasted, or dark roasted. Darker roasts are roasted at a higher temperature, and for a longer time, than lighter roasts. The darker the roast, the stronger and more bitter the taste of the coffee. But it’s a myth that darker roasts have more caffeine. In truth, light-roasted coffee is slightly higher in caffeine.
Research into the health benefits of dark-roast coffee is mixed:
- Antioxidant levels: Light roasted coffee has been found to contain higher levels of the antioxidants polyphenol and chlorogenic acid than darker roasts. These compounds may be damaged during the longer, hotter roasting process for dark coffees. However, research has also shown that dark coffee may have higher total antioxidant activity.
- Cholesterol-raising compound: A study that looked at coffee brewed without a filter (such as French press) found that dark roast coffee contained slightly less of a substance called cafestol than lighter roasts. Cafestol is thought to increase cholesterol levels.
- Digestive symptoms: One small study from 2004 concluded that the level of roasting made no difference in whether people who drank coffee got digestive symptoms like heartburn and stomachaches afterward. A newer but even smaller study found that people who drank dark roast produced less stomach acid than those who drank a medium roast.
- Weight control: Another small study found that overweight people who drank about 2 cups of dark roasted coffee a day lost slightly more weight during the 4-week study period than those who had the same amount of light roast coffee.
- Blood sugar control: Eleven healthy volunteers had their blood sugar levels tested after drinking about 1 1/4 cups of either light roast or dark roast coffee. The researchers concluded that the roast made no difference in blood sugar control.
Other Health Benefits of Coffee
Beyond its potential weight loss benefits, coffee offers a range of other health advantages. Coffee is rich in antioxidants, and other compounds and minerals like magnesium, which have proven health benefits. It's also most known for containing caffeine, which helps to maintain energy and focus, as well as many other benefits. Coffee, just like many other things, should be enjoyed with moderation to reap the benefits.
A large study done in 2018 by the National Cancer Institute of the United State showed a correlation between a higher consumption coffee, and a lower mortality rate from cancer, strokes, and heart diseases. The relationship between drinking coffee, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, has been studied for years. Yet another interesting potential health benefit of coffee is a 25% lower chance of suffering from Type 2 Diabetes, by drinking a maximum of 3 or 4 cups a day.
We already know that one of the benefits of coffee it that it offers protects against coronary heart disease. In the past, coffee - and it's high caffeine content - has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. This is probably because caffeine is a known stimulant, but the truth is that regularly drinking coffee - black, or with milk - lowers blood pressure, taking some of the pressure off your heart. Because of this, even hypertensive people can drink coffee. In fact, a study in the American Heart Association journal has shown that, due to the high antioxidant content in coffee, it could even have a cardioprotective effect, meaning it actively protects your heart. And because this relies on coffee's antioxidant content, you'll get the same benefits from decaffeinated coffee!
Nutritional Profile of Black Coffee
Coffee is rich in several types of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that reduce your risk of serious health conditions like cancer and heart disease by fighting cell damage. In fact, coffee is the biggest single source of antioxidants in most people’s diets. Coffee also contains moderate amounts of vitamin B2 and magnesium.
One 8-ounce serving of black coffee contains:
- Calories: 2
- Protein: 0 grams
- Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0 grams
- Fiber: 0 grams
- Sugar: 0 grams
- Sodium: 5 milligrams
A single serving of black coffee is considered to be 8 ounces, much less than you might get in some cups you buy at a coffee shop or convenience store.
Incorporating Black Coffee into Your Diet
If you want to try switching to black coffee, choose fresh, high-quality coffee. It will be more flavorful, making it easier to forgo milk and sugar. Freshly ground beans also tend to taste better, so you might want to invest in a small coffee grinder.
After that point, the way you prepare your coffee also affects its flavor. Try some of these ways of brewing black coffee, all of which have their fans:
- An auto-drip coffee maker
- The pour-over method
- A French press
- An AeroPress
- The cold brew method
If you just can’t develop a taste for black coffee, try lower-fat, lower-calorie substitutions for cream and sugar. Use skim milk or unsweetened soy milk instead of cream or creamer. Try a small amount of artificial sweetener instead of sugar.
Coffee and Lemon: Separating Fact from Fiction
People may have heard from others that adding lemon to coffee can help with weight loss, but there is no scientific research that supports this. It’s important that people seeking to lose weight follow nutritional advice from their healthcare professionals.
Some studies do suggest that coffee can help with weight loss. However, no research exists to suggest that adding lemon to coffee enhances this effect. Additionally, it’s important that people trying to lose weight speak with a healthcare professional to receive science-supported nutritional advice. Online articles that aren’t supported by scientific research may provide misleading or false dieting information.
Lemon may have become popular as a weight loss aid through lemon water diets. However, there is little evidence that lemon water diets work, and the main effects may be due to actually drinking more water rather than adding lemon. For example, studies suggest that drinking water before a meal may lead to eating less and could be an effective weight loss strategy.
Some studies suggest that lemon detox diets help weight loss, but this is through calorie restriction. Additionally, a 2020 animal study indicates that lemon extract may increase insulin sensitivity and the breakdown of fats, but this may not translate to humans.
Citrus fruits such as lemons are good sources of antioxidants. According to a 2021 review, antioxidants in citrus have anti-inflammatory properties and counteract oxidative stress in the body. Lemons contain 34.4 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C per fruit, which is 45% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 75 mg for adult females and 38% of the RDA of 90 mg for males. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), vitamin C may help protect against cardiovascular disease and age-related macular degeneration and shorten the length of the common cold.
Acidic drinks and foods may have negative effects on teeth. For example, an older study compared various beverages such as sodas, juice, tap water, and lemon juice. Lemon juice showed higher erosion on dentine and enamel than all other liquids.
Therefore, experts advise that someone should taper off caffeine gradually. Some people may be advised to lose weight for their health. A person can speak to their healthcare professional about the most effective way to lose weight and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
If a person has any adverse effects from drinking coffee with lemon, it’s important that they discuss this with their healthcare professional.