Coffee may help lose weight

Aussie Matthew Dellavedova, the Cleveland Cavaliers point and shooting guard, is a trim 200 pounds at 6 feet, 4 inches tall. He’s also a major coffee fan and had his own line of coffee, “G’Day Mate” from the Cleveland Coffee Company, a few years back. That may be one reason he’s in such good shape.

Researchers looked at data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found that men, ages 20 to 44, who drink two to three cups of joe a day have 1.3% less total fat and 1.8% less trunk fat than those who don’t consume coffee. And women benefited even more.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, says women 30 to 44 who drink two to three cups daily have 3.4% less body fat than female noncoffee drinkers. And those who are 45 to 69 years old and drink four or more cups daily have 4.1% less.

If weight is your main concern, limit intake to six cups. More than that, say researchers from University of South Australia’s Australian Centre for Precision Health can up your risk for obesity! However, folks who don’t get the jitters or a sour stomach from caffeine can benefit from drinking more, because that helps lower your risk of brain dysfunction, fatty liver disease, Parkinson’s disease and more than eight cancers.

Tip: You’ll also pack on pounds if you favor coffee drinks with saturated-fat-loaded dairy and sugar bombs. Opt for black filtered coffee and no sugar. Then enjoy!