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Among the many benefits of coffee and caffeine is they help people lose body fat.

We have discussed on this blog previously [1] how caffeine might help people lose weight. But now we will look at some reporting on how coffee may help people burn body fat, which is a related topic.

Harvard Health reports [2]:

Drinking four cups of coffee daily could reduce body fat by about 4%, according to a recent study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers. The finding comes from a 24-week investigation in which 126 overweight, non-insulin sensitive adults drank daily either four cups of regular coffee or four cups of a coffee-like placebo beverage. The study was designed to determine if coffee consumption reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

...

According to a January 13, 2020 HealthDay News article, Derrick Alperet, a study coauthor and research fellow in the Department of Nutrition, and colleagues think that the fat loss may be due to the caffeine in coffee increasing the drinker’s metabolism, which may burn more calories and cause a decrease in body fat.

Caffeine is an ingredient in many fat-loss supplements. Healthline says manufacturers of fat-loss products include it for good reason [3]. Healthine says caffeine is "one of the few substances known to help mobilize fats from your fat tissues and increase metabolism."

The bad news is caffeine works better in fat loss on people who are not obese.

Stimulants in coffee and tea include caffeine

Coffee and tea have four stimulants that affect the metabolism, including the rate at which fat burns. Healthline says they are:

• Caffeine: A stimulant in coffee.
• Theobromine: A stimulant in cocoa that is also present in smaller amounts in coffee.
• Theophylline: In both cocoa and coffee.
• Chlorogenic acid: A biologically active compound in coffee that might slow the absorption of carbohydrates.

The most powerful of these stimulants is caffeine, which inhibits the neurotransmitter adenosine. Healthline says:

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.

In this way, coffee helps you stay active when you would otherwise feel tired. In fact, it may improve exercise performance by 11–12%, on average.

Caffeine spurs the nervous system to burn fat

Caffeine stimulates the nervous system to send adrenaline to fat cells, telling the cells to break down fat and increasing levels of fat in the bloodstream.

This alone, the fat being in your blood, would not help you lose fat. But the caffeine can speed up your metabolism, which may prompt you to be more active physically and burn that fat circulating in your blood.

So you will still have to exercise.

How caffeine helps with weight loss and fat burning

You will have to exercise, but ...

In a bit of good news, caffeine boosts the rate of your metabolism, as we stated. Scientists calculate something called the resting metabolic rate (RMR).

Caffeine can increase your resting metabolic rate by 3 to 11 percent. The more caffeine you take, the higher the RMR. If your metabolic rate is higher, you burn more calories even at rest, and you can eat more without gaining weight.

But most sources, including our blog, [4] say you should not take more than 400 mg of caffeine per day. That's about 4 to 5 cups of coffee or 10 Viter Energy Mints daily [5].

Healthline reports:

Interestingly, most of the increase in metabolism is caused by an increase in fat burning.

Unfortunately, the effect is less pronounced in those who are obese.

One study showed that caffeine increased fat burning by as much as 29% in lean people, while the increase was only about 10% in obese individuals.

The effect also appears to decrease with age and is greater in younger individuals.

For more tips on how to lose weight and/or burn fat, see The 14 Best Ways to Burn Fat [6].

An alternative to coffee

If you need to get your caffeine but don't feel like you want to drink coffee, tea, or an energy drink, try Viter Energy Mints [5]. If you're in a place where you can't easily make or buy coffee or tea or don't want a lot of bathroom breaks, the caffeinated mints are perfect.

Viter Energy Mints are sugar-free and freshen the breath, plus they contain invigorating B vitamins. They deliver 40 mg of caffeine per mint.

In addition to the caffeine and B vitamins, Viter Energy Mints contain peppermint or other varieties of mint. We did a whole blog on peppermint [7] and found that it may:

• Reduce headaches
• Prevent irritable bowel syndrome
• Relieve indigestion
• Alleviate cold and flu symptoms

Plus the mints taste great. Buy Viter Energy Mints at the link above or on our Amazon.com page [8].

Sources:

[1] https://www.goviter.com/blogs/viter-energy-blog/can-caffeine-help-with-weight-loss

[2] https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/four-cups-of-coffee-modest-loss-of-body-fat/

[3] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coffee-increase-metabolism

[4] https://www.goviter.com/blogs/viter-energy-blog/how-much-caffeine-is-safe-for-adults

[5] https://www.goviter.com/collections/viter-energy-mints

[6] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-ways-to-burn-fat

[7] https://www.goviter.com/blogs/viter-energy-blog/peppermint-benefits

[8] https://amzn.to/3jb7Gwg