As soon as we wake up, the first thing we absolutely NEED is coffee (after our smartphones, of course). It is the fuel we require to be productive and stay alert throughout the day. And sometimes through the night as well. But what if this daily ritual had some unexpected benefits?
CNN reports that researchers at the University of Nottingham published a study on 24 June in the journal Nature: Scientific Reports. In it, they confirmed that coffee helps burn calories!
Essentially, our body has 2 types of fat cells – brown and white. The brown cells burn blood sugar and fat helping in weight loss. Generally, they do this in response to cold. But now, the researchers have discovered that these cells are also activated when people drink coffee.
The scientists tested this theory in the lab and then on volunteers. Mail Online reports that the test subjects were given a cup of Nescafé instant coffee or water in an experiment and the results compared.
Professor Michael Symonds (co-director of the study) said,
“From our previous work, we knew that brown fat is mainly located in the neck region, so we were able to image someone straight after they had a drink to see if the brown fat got hotter.”
“This is the first study in humans to show that something like a cup of coffee can have a direct effect on our brown fat functions.”
He further added that they will now be identifying the exact component in coffee that stimulates brown fat cells.
“Once we have confirmed which component is responsible for this, it could potentially be used as part of a weight-management regime or as part of glucose regulation program to help prevent diabetes.”
We didn’t really need another reason to brew our favourite cuppa but this sure does make drinking it a lot more fun, don’t you think?