Doctor warns against drinking four cups of coffee a day

Previously, British scientists stated that such a “diet” reduces the amount of fat by 4%

British scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health have found a new way to combat excess weight. According to them, drinking four cups of coffee a day will help reduce body fat by 4 percent. We learned how safe this is for overall health from an endocrinologist at the Medical Research and Educational Center of Moscow State University. Lomonosov, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Zukhra PAVLOVA.

The conclusion about the fat-burning property of 4 cups of coffee was made as a result 24 week study, in which 126 overweight adult men and women drank either four cups of regular coffee or four cups of a coffee-like placebo drink daily. The researchers’ goal was to find out whether coffee reduces the risk of developing resistance (loss of insulin sensitivity) and, accordingly, the development of type 2 diabetes due to sharp jumps in blood sugar levels.

The study was conducted in Singapore over a six-month period. It turned out that coffee does not have a protective effect against the development of insulin insensitivity. But there was an unexpected benefit: Those who drank 4 cups of the caffeinated pick-me-up per day for six months saw a nearly 4 percent reduction in total body fat.

According to one of the study’s authors, Derrick Alpere, the fat loss may be due to the fact that the caffeine contained in the drink increases the drinker’s metabolism, which can lead to the burning of more fat.

“Of course, 4% of adipose tissue is a significant figure, but there are nuances,” Zukhra Pavlova commented on the study. – If you drink coffee before or immediately after a meal, the nutritional value of food will sharply decrease. That is, many beneficial substances are poorly absorbed. And people with a weakened gastrointestinal tract may experience stomach discomfort.

In addition, the doctor noted that drinking four cups of coffee a day is not very beneficial in principle, despite their relationship with meals:

– There is a high risk that the body will begin to lack vitamins A and B, iron, magnesium, but, above all, calcium. If there is a shortage of it in the blood, the activity of the parathyroid glands and parathyroid hormone (the main regulator of phosphorus-calcium metabolism) will begin to increase. – Auto). This is fundamentally important because all our muscles, including the heart, contract with the active participation of the macroelement calcium.

– When should you drink coffee so that it does not harm our health?

− Coffee is a healthy and very loved drink by many. It prolongs youth and protects against dementia, but only if used correctly. This is one to two cups a day (without sugar and milk), an hour after eating and taking medications. And be sure to drink your coffee with water to avoid dehydration. Then there will be complete benefit.

“But sometimes after lunch or dinner I really want to drink a cup of coffee or strong tea, and most often we give in to this desire. With what it can be connected?

– The desire to drink tea or coffee immediately after a meal is associated only with habit. If you get out of the habit, you will want to drink tea or coffee at other times. For example, among the same English people, it is five o clock. In our case: “I ate and immediately drank.” But you can unlearn everything. Especially if you know that half of what you eat loses its nutritional value after a cup of coffee. You just need to understand that in this way we worsen our health.

– Can you just wash down what you eat with water?

– Certainly. Just not in large quantities, otherwise it will interfere with the functioning of the stomach and its digestive function. If you drink half a glass of water, preferably warm, maybe with some lemon or ginger, to quench your thirst or “wash away” the discomfort after spicy or salty food, there will be no problem. Moreover, you can drink tea after meals, but it is herbal and does not contain tannins, which also interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Thyme, mint, chamomile – drink for your health.