Drinking coffee helps you lose weight! Light roasted coffee retains more chlorogenic acid

The rich aroma of coffee wafts through the streets and alleys. Drinking coffee not only refreshes the mind, but a cup of coffee in the morning can also bring full energy to office workers. Many people also believe that "drinking coffee helps lose weight", is this true? Which type of roasted coffee should I take for better results?

The effect of coffee on weight loss: from the "chlorogenic acid" in coffee beans

According to the latest book "Coffee Addiction Lab: Discovering the Health Power of Coffee" co-authored by Zhang Jinjian, chairman of the Breast Cancer Prevention Foundation and honorary professor of surgery at the National Taiwan University School of Medicine, and Cai Chonghuang, attending physician of the Department of Family Medicine at the Zhonggang Branch of Cheng Ching Hospital, current foreign studies have found that the weight loss effect of coffee may come from the "chlorogenic acid" in coffee beans, which has the function of inhibiting the absorption of glucose and can indirectly promote the increase of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), activating protein kinase A (PKA) and triglyceride lipase through many actions, reducing the accumulation of fat cells and achieving the effect of weight loss.

However, after coffee beans are roasted, most of the chlorogenic acid will be broken down, so if you want to rely on coffee to lose weight, you may only be able to eat raw coffee beans or drink lighter roasted coffee.

Drinking lighter roasted coffee can provide more chlorogenic acid

Coffee contains polyphenols, which have antioxidant effects. They include flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans and stilbenes. Phenolic acid and its derivative chlorogenic acid are particularly rich. Chlorogenic acid is composed of caffeic acid and ferulic acid from phenolic acid metabolism, with the addition of quinic acid, and is the source of the sour and bitter taste of coffee.

The proportion of chlorogenic acid varies depending on the variety of coffee beans. The chlorogenic acid content in green beans is about 9.6%. However, it will be destroyed during the roasting process and about half of the chlorogenic acid will disappear. After baking, the content will drop to 4.8%, forming lactones, which are combined with non-acidic quinine lactone. Its role is still unclear. As far as we know, it is mainly metabolized in the small intestine and colon, and intestinal bacteria play a very important role.

Chlorogenic acid becomes unstable when baked at high temperatures, causing chemical cracking reactions. Therefore, the longer the coffee beans are roasted, the lower the chlorogenic acid content. Dark roasted beans contain little or no chlorogenic acid. So if you want to rely on coffee to lose weight, you may only be able to eat green coffee beans or drink lighter roasted coffee. Drinking 3 cups of coffee a day is good for your health, but if you drink too much, it will hinder fat consumption and cause belly fat to accumulate. It is recommended not to consume too much coffee. The recommended daily intake of green coffee extract containing 45% arachidonic acid is 400 mg.

Chlorogenic acid has four effects on weight control

To sum up the above, we can conclude that green coffee bean extract contains chlorogenic acid, and studies have shown that it may help control weight through the following four effects.

1. Reduce the absorption of glucose from food in the small intestine.

2. Reduce blood sugar concentration.

3. Inhibit the absorption of fat.

4. Indirectly promote the decomposition of triglycerides in adipose tissue.

In addition to coffee, which other foods also contain chlorogenic acid? In fact, chlorogenic acid is also found in foods such as blueberries, apples, pears, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, burdock, and pumpkins.