Episode #14 Does Drinking Coffee Make You Fat?

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In this episode, I address the age old question: Does drinking coffee make you fat?

Many factors:

• Black coffee vs coffee with cream
• “manufactured drinks” better known as “sugar delivery systems”(coffee “drinks”)

“Research”

• Caffeine and coffee: their influence on metabolic rate and substrate utilization in normal weight and obese individuals.
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7369170
• A series of four trials was carried out to investigate the effects of caffeine and coffee on the metabolic rate and substrate utilization in normal weight and obese individuals. In the first trial 8 mg/kg caffeine was compared with a placebo in normal weight subjects. Metabolic rate increased significantly during the 3 hr after caffeine ingestion. While plasma glucose, insulin, and carbohydrate oxidation did not change significantly, plasma free fatty acid levels rose from 432 +/- 31 to 848 +/- 135 muEq/liter and were accompanied by significant increases in fat oxidation during the last hour of the test. In the second and third trials the effects of coffee providing 4 mg/kg caffeine were studied in control and obese subjects. Metabolic rate increased significantly in both groups; however, significant increases in fat oxidation were only observed in the control group. Plasma free fatty acids did not change in the obese. In the fourth trial, coffee was taken with a 3080 kJ meal. The thermic effect of the meal was significantly greater after coffee than after decaffeinated coffee and again fat oxidation was significantly greater after coffee. In conclusion caffeine/coffee stimulates the metabolic rate in both control and obese individuals; however, this is accompanied by greater oxidation of fat in normal weight subjects.
• But….
• Coffee reduces thyroid action and inhibits absorption of thyroid hormone therapy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-gottfried-md/thyroid-coffee_b_1585136.html
• Caffeine Stimulation of Cortisol Secretion Across the Waking Hours in Relation to Caffeine Intake Levels: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2257922/

Objective

Caffeine increases cortisol secretion in people at rest or undergoing mental stress. It is not known whether tolerance develops in this response with daily intake of caffeine in the diet. We therefore tested the cortisol response to caffeine challenge after controlled levels of caffeine intake.

Methods

Men (N = 48) and women (N = 48) completed a double-blind, crossover trial conducted over 4 weeks. On each week, subjects abstained for 5 days from dietary caffeine and instead took capsules totaling 0 mg, 300 mg, and 600 mg/day in 3 divided doses. On day 6, they took capsules with either 0 mg or 250 mg at 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 6:00 PM, and cortisol was sampled from saliva collected at 8 times from 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM.

Results

After 5 days of caffeine abstinence, caffeine challenge doses caused a robust increase in cortisol across the test day (p < .0001). In contrast, 5 days of caffeine intake at 300 mg/day and 600 mg/day abolished the cortisol response to the initial 9:00 AM caffeine dose, although cortisol levels were again elevated between 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM (p = .02 to .002) after the second caffeine dose taken at 1:00 PM. Cortisol levels declined to control levels during the evening sampling period.

Conclusion

• Cortisol responses to caffeine are reduced, but not eliminated, in healthy young men and women who consume caffeine on a daily basis.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisol
• Cortisol reduces immune function (chronic use of coffee…)
• Cortisol reduces bone formation (peeing your bones out….)
• Cortisol reduces collagen formation (skin, ligaments, tendons, elasticity, etc)
• Cortisol inhibits wound healing
• Cortisol inhibits insulin functionality (insulin resistence by another pathway)
• Cortisol lowers your stomach’s ability to break down foods by lowering stomach HCl secretion.
• Shuts down the reproductive system (infertility
• Stress-induced cortisol response and fat distribution in women: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16353426
• Recent studies have shown an association between uncontrollable stress and abdominal fat distribution. It has been suggested that changes in cortisol secretion might represent one possible mechanism for this relationship. This study investigated whether body fat distribution, determined by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), is related to salivary cortisol levels in response to laboratory stressors. Subjects were 41 overweight women with a Low or a High WHR. Multiple measures of cortisol and mood were obtained during a session of stressful tasks (eg., timed arithmetic) and during a time-matched, control rest session. Also, background life stress and psychological trait variables were assessed. Compared to Low WHR subjects, High WHR subjects secreted significantly more cortisol during the stressful session after 60 minutes of stress, and considering the total area under the curve of secretion. This difference was not seen on the rest day. In terms of background and psychological measures, High WHR subjects were characterized by poorer coping skills and differences in mood reactivity. Specifically, although all subjects became more angry in response to the stressful session, High WHR subjects showed smaller increases in anger. This could indicate that they are more likely to evidence a helpless reaction to uncontrollable stress. These findings support the hypothesis that cortisol secretion might represent a mechanism for the observed association between stress and abdominal fat distribution. Furthermore, differences in coping and appraisal may suggest that a particular psychological pattern might influence the reactivity of the adrenal-cortical system to stress, and subsequent fat distribution.
• Glycaemic index and glycaemic load of breakfast predict cognitive function and mood in school children: a randomised controlled trial: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21736777

Glycemic Index of foods including nuts, oils, and animal flesh: http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/grass-fed-meat-education/food-analysis-gi-gl-fat-ratio-nutrient-load-and-inflammation

Coffee intake necessitates liver detox- combined with environmental chemical exposure, personal care products, excessive sugar consumption, and processed foods (metabolic function slows as metabolic load on liver increases)- for a more in depth information about how this affects you and what you can do to counteract the impact of toxin/metabolic load on liver (and overall physiologic) function –

Join me on my upcoming webinar: Cleanse and Detox- Introduction To The 21 Day Purification Program

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=gsburrcab&oeidk=a07ea2l60ch402cfb8d