Caffeine has been shown to be effective in losing weight in a study with obese mice because it makes them lose their appetite and induces them to increase energy expenditure , according to an article published in Nature Communications . This research carried out by a team of scientists from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, in China, has identified some of the neural circuits involved in this process and provides new data on the mechanisms by which caffeine acts as a regulator of metabolism .
In general, studies on caffeine used to link the consumption of this substance in coffee and tea with long-term weight loss , but its regulatory effects on metabolism are not well understood. According to the new Chinese study, led by Guo Zhang, there are certain adenosine receptor abnormalities in the hypothalamus of obese mice. Adenosine is a substance that participates in the formation of various psychological and pathological processes and that plays an important role in the energy balance of the body.
Mice affected by this anomaly tend to eat more than they need and therefore gain weight . But one of the properties of caffeine is that it reduces the effect of adenosine, making it effective for these animals to lose weight, according to Chinese researchers. During the experiment, mice were given high daily caffeine doses of up to 60 mg / kg – equivalent to a human taking 24 to 36 cups of coffee a day – to decrease the action of adenosine. The treatment worked and the mice lost appetite, increased energy expenditure, and progressively lost weight. The problem is that the high doses of caffeine necessary to achieve this weight loss effect make it impossible today to apply this process as a treatment against obesity in humans. Our daily caffeine cap should not exceed 400 mg (no more than two to three cups) to be beneficial. In excess, caffeine not only increases blood pressure and causes stomach upset , but can lead to tremors, insomnia, headaches, abnormal heart rhythms and dependence on the substance.
