This video showing a woman losing weight after
consuming a glass of hot water mixed with the juice of half a lemon and half a teaspoon of
coffee powder and showing this as a doctor’s suggestion is being shared on social media
platforms. Other social media posts and videos make similar claims. According to a Harvard
study, drinking four cups of coffee a day could reduce body fat by 4%. A co-author of the
study opines that this could be because of the caffeine in coffee, which increases metabolism
and helps burn more calories, thereby decreasing body fat. However, a metabolic health physician
and clinical professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine has said that no doctor they know
would ever recommend this as a way to lose weight because such a caffeine boost to the body will
be short-lived as the body will soon begin to tolerate the high level of caffeine.
A 2008 study
proved the effect of lemon polyphenols in fat reduction, but this was performed on mice,
and no studies prove lemon’s efficiency in human fat reduction. A USA-based registered
dietitian nutritionist told Time magazine that lemon water is not a miracle weight-loss
food, and that it can help in reducing body fat indirectly, as adding lemon to plain water
could encourage people to drink more water, by which they would stay hydrated, which counters
thirst-triggered food cravings, as thirst is often misunderstood for hunger. Another registered
dietician says that there is nothing in lemon juice to burn fat or a chemical connection to
make that happen. She added that water keeps you fuller, which works to keep down hunger cues that
make you want to eat. Healthline.com states that neither lemon nor coffee can melt fat.
The article
emphasises that the only way to lose weight is by consuming fewer or burning more calories. As
there is no credible evidence that drinking coffee with lemon helps shed fat, this post and
others that make similar claims are misleading..
