Drinking 4 cups of coffee each day could limit weight gain, study says

(WHDH) — Those who drink four cups of coffee each day could prevent unwanted weight gain, according to a new study.

In a study of rats, scientists at the University of Illinois found that caffeine limited weight gain and cholesterol production, despite a diet that was high in fat and sugar.

Rats that consumed caffeine extracted from mate tea gained 16 percent less weight and accumulated 22 percent less body fat than rats that consumed decaffeinated mate tea, scientists Manabu T. Nakamura, Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia, and Jan E. Novakofski found.

Scientists also noted that the effects were similar to synthetic caffeine and caffeine extracted from coffee.

Mate tea, a stimulant that is typically consumed by those who live in southeastern Latin American countries, is said to be rich in phytochemicals, flavonoids, and amino acids.

Study findings indicated that mate tea contains about 65-130 milligrams of caffeine per serving, compared with 30-300 milligrams of caffeine in a cup of coffee.

Over a period of four weeks, researchers say the rats lived off a diet that consisted of 40 percent fat, 45 percent carbohydrate, and 15 percent protein. The rats also consumed enough caffeine equivalent to four cups of coffee on a daily basis.

The rats that ingested caffeine from mate tea, coffee or synthetic sources accumulated less body fat than rats in the other groups, the study found.

“Considering the findings, mate tea and caffeine can be considered anti-obesity agents,” said Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia, a co-author of the study and director of the division of nutritional sciences at the U. of I. “The results of this research could be scaled to humans to understand the roles of mate tea and caffeine as potential strategies to prevent overweight and obesity, as well as the subsequent metabolic disorders associated with these conditions.”

The study also found that caffeine consumption may also curb the production of triglycerides.

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