Did You Know Coffee Will Make You Fat, or Will It?

Coffee is a great beverage and I like millions of others throughout the world enjoy it on a daily basis. I have read though that if you are trying to lose a bit of weight you might want to cut out the caffeine during your weight loss program.

Coffee has some great benefits if you chose to drink it but for now lets talk about why you might want to cut it out of your diet if you are trying to lose body fat. After doing some research I was shocked to find that I would have to let go of my morning friend for a while until I reached my goal weight. Then after that I would be drinking it in moderation.

Caffeine raises levels of a stress hormone called Cortisol. Cortisol raises your blood pressure and increases blood sugar which stimulates the production of excess insulin and with excess insulin comes body cell damage and excess fat storage. To make things worse the fat storage generally takes place in the abdomen area. Yes Cortisol activates fat-storage enzymes in cells.

The list goes on. Raised Cortisol levels apparently will also cause loss of muscle mass, decrease bone density, impair wound healing, osteoporosis, create feelings of anxiety, encourage depression, affects kidney function. There is more but no sense ruining your day.

Did you know that exercising can and does raise cortisol levels as well?

I found out that researchers at Sahlgrenska Hospital in Sweden found that there is a direct link between higher Cortisol Levels and abdomen fat. The higher the Cortisol levels the more fat is accumulated in that area.

What a depressing find. Maybe it would be better to switch over to tea. I can't imagine myself waking up in the morning and my first thought being mmm I can sure use a good cup of "tea". Nope not likely.

Three cups of coffee can keep Cortisol levels elevated in your body for up to 18 hours.

Increased levels of the stress hormone Cortisol can be caused by stress itself, caffeine and any caffeine drinks, sugar, chocolate, Prozac and I am sure there are more. One article I read referred to Cortisol as the “Age accelerator and Death hormone” Yikes that one really made me decide to take this a bit more seriously.

Cortisol is not our friend so make sure to educate yourself on different ways to keep Cortisol levels at a manageable level for your health.