You may have seen a number of people on a popular social media app mixing coffee and lemon juice and recommending drinking the concoction for 28 to 30 days to achieve weight loss goals.

In fact, it became so popular that a specific hashtag was viewed by more than 8 million people. Several people also claimed that they lost a lot of weight over a period of one month.

Is drinking coffee with lemon juice helpful for reducing weight?

A straight NO when one asks regarding drinking coffee with lemon juice. If anyone were to see the outcome from this specific trend, it is possible from a calorie deficit. In other terms, there is no scientific evidence that drinking coffee with lemon without any other alterations to your diet and lifestyle will result in weight loss.

Is coffee alone good enough to lose weight?

Probably one of the factors for this trend to take off is because some (kind of outdated) research suggests that caffeine could serve as an appetite suppressant by boosting levels of the hormone serotonin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine circulating through the human body. Additionally, it is possible that the caffeine inside coffee could help enhance your metabolism in a minor way. Truth is, “a minor” translates to vaguely a quarter of a calorie each day. This is why it will not make any difference in your weight.
If one goes by sheer calculation alone in an attempt to reduce weight, based on caffeine only, one would have to gulp down way more coffee than what is considered safe. And the consequences of caffeine abuse are not good. Possible side effects could include anxiety, insomnia, stomach issues, nausea, and even straight-up nervousness.

Is lemon juice good for reducing weight?

You perhaps have read or heard somewhere that drinking warm water with lemon leads to weight loss or that using the cayenne pepper, water, lemon, and maple syrup mixture is a weight loss formula. But it is not completely true.
The proponents of lemon for weight reduction claim that it delays gastric emptying which helps you to feel fuller for a longer period. Even if this was true, it will not impact your weight.

Is it risky to drink coffee and lemon together?

There are no benefits to destroying a good cup of coffee. And if you have pre-existing issues such as frequent heartburn or a sensitive tummy, the added acid is not going to do your digestive system any favors. Also, the entire exposure to acidic coffee and acidic lemon juice could erode your tooth enamel. So it does not provide any health-related benefits.

The only way to lose weight naturally is to have a good diet and healthy lifestyle habits. Lemon in coffee seems like a rough way to begin the day. Using lemon coffee by replacing your meal or speeding up your metabolism is not good in the long term. So from a dietician’s point of view, it is not recommended for weight loss. Use your wisdom. Do not believe everything that you see on social media. If anyone is claiming to have lost 30 kilos by drinking lemon coffee, that is simply not possible with coffee alone.

(By: Ms. Avni Kaul, Nutritionist, Wellness Coach & Certified Diabetic Educator, Founder of NutriActivania)