Coffee – Diet Enemy Or Exactly The Opposite

coffeeCoffee is a staple of many people daily liquid consumption. Most people have at least one cup a day, while others drink several.

But are there other benefits to drinking coffee besides it helping to keep us awake?

There is debate regarding whether or not coffee can also assist when dieting. Some people claim coffee in their diet helps; others say it causes dehydration.

While there are no definite facts regarding coffee, knowing the reasons behind both sides does help when making a personal choice.

The Good

Coffee contains caffeine, and caffeine is a component used in many weight loss drugs, such as Ephedra and Phentramin-D, due its ability to suppress the appetite. Coffee may also aid the body in burning calories.

Caffeine also acts as a diuretic, causing you to urinate more often. This causes loss of water in the body, which may also be the reason coffee is considered to aid in weight loss.

Coffee has antioxidants. Antioxidants help slow the oxidation in the body, thus preventing the production of free radicals which then run around damaging other cells. Coffee is now also attributed with possibly preventing other diseases, such as Parkinson’s, and type 2 diabetes.

Coffee, along with diet and exercise, can stop the body’s need for food and increase its ability to burn calories and fat.

The Bad

Many still consider coffee to be a dangerous drink to consume daily. The overall evidence as to whether it can make you lose weight is not definitive and some feel the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to coffee.

Too much coffee can cause insomnia, and while it does act as a diuretic and helps you to lose water that is not necessarily a good thing as you are dehydrating your body. Coffee also can cause a craving for sweets, such as doughnuts, pastries and muffins which will have negative effects on a diet.

The Choice

No one can tell anyone how their body works. Everyone is an individual, so if coffee drinking helps some to lose weight, they should continue doing it, but always in moderation. Too much of anything can be bad.

For whom it does not work, obviously the choice will have to be something else. Scientists are still studying coffee and the effects it has on people, but we are a long way away from anything conclusive. In the end, it will come down to a personal choice, like most things in life.