coffee..cortisol...stubborn fat?

Dave198lbs

I can not find a definitive answer to what I have been reading lately.

I drink quite a bit of coffee every day. Recently I read in a fitness magazine that coffee causes the body to relsease cortisol which can cause the body to store fat.

anyone know of a real study on this?

lizard053

Caffeine can cause your body to react as if in a stressful situation and release cortisol. However, if you've not changed your amount, your body should adjust accordingly. Plus, a little coffee is said to be great for weight loss. About 2 cups a day seems to be the magic number for most people.

TrophyWifeSass

2 cups a day? Oops, guess I'm screwed. *gets in line @ Starbucks for her free refill*

Sidesteal

I can not find a definitive answer to what I have been reading lately.

I drink quite a bit of coffee every day. Recently I read in a fitness magazine that coffee causes the body to relsease cortisol which can cause the body to store fat.

anyone know of a real study on this?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2257922/


I have not yet thoroughly read this and formed an opinion, but I will now!

Acg67

Not totally on topic, but a good write up on coffee and weight control

http://www.ajcn.org/content/84/4/682.full

Dave198lbs

I can not find a definitive answer to what I have been reading lately.

I drink quite a bit of coffee every day. Recently I read in a fitness magazine that coffee causes the body to relsease cortisol which can cause the body to store fat.

anyone know of a real study on this?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2257922/


I have not yet thoroughly read this and formed an opinion, but I will now!

thanks...seems, at least according to this study, that more than 300 mg a day is a potential issue

Dave198lbs

Not totally on topic, but a good write up on coffee and weight control

http://www.ajcn.org/content/84/4/682.full

thanks, I'll check it out

lilojoke

Good link here http://tinyurl.com/7os9z9t I know there is a link between blood sugar and caffeine making some people over eat.

tinacrane

bump

Sidesteal

thanks...seems, at least according to this study, that more than 300 mg a day is a potential issue

I don't have a definitive answer on this but I think you should also pan-out so to speak, to evaluate whether that elevated level of cortisol is a long-term problem or not, and additionally, whether or not continual caffeine intake (for example, drinking X cups/day) would produce the same result.

In other words, is your situation relevant to this study and even then, is the elevated cortisol going to inhibit fat loss or is it just going to interfere with a short term process that won't matter in the long run.

I have no idea what the answer is but I think it's a valid question.

StevLL

Two cups a day?!! my cup is large and it gets filled constantly all day. I'm in trouble. :-(

tinamina78

I can not find a definitive answer to what I have been reading lately.

I drink quite a bit of coffee every day. Recently I read in a fitness magazine that coffee causes the body to relsease cortisol which can cause the body to store fat.

anyone know of a real study on this?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2257922/


I have not yet thoroughly read this and formed an opinion, but I will now!

thanks...seems, at least according to this study, that more than 300 mg a day is a potential issue

It also seemed like caffeine intake in the afternoon caused cortisol levels to rise more than in the morning. Maybe because the body naturally produces more in the morning than in the afternoon? Interesting article, I take it as a good reason to have a moderate amount of caffeine in the morning and then cut out caffeine in the afternoon. Thanks for sharing, interesting topic!

Dave198lbs

thanks...seems, at least according to this study, that more than 300 mg a day is a potential issue

I don't have a definitive answer on this but I think you should also pan-out so to speak, to evaluate whether that elevated level of cortisol is a long-term problem or not, and additionally, whether or not continual caffeine intake (for example, drinking X cups/day) would produce the same result.

In other words, is your situation relevant to this study and even then, is the elevated cortisol going to inhibit fat loss or is it just going to interfere with a short term process that won't matter in the long run.

I have no idea what the answer is but I think it's a valid question.

ya..good points...I do feel certain that at a minimum, I need to cut my coffee back a few notches

Sidesteal

ya..good points...I do feel certain that at a minimum, I need to cut my coffee back a few notches

Found something else for you additionally:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

See #8 regarding cortisol. I trust most of the information on Leangains as being legit. Anyways, just something else to consider. While the header is about fasting, he specifically refers to cortisol elevation and mentions coffee

lizard053

Interesting articles.

Acg67

Anecdotally , i was ingesting around 1g of caffeine a day on my last cut and didn't seem to hinder my progress, but was a ***** weaning myself off it when i took a stim break

Dave198lbs

ya..good points...I do feel certain that at a minimum, I need to cut my coffee back a few notches

Found something else for you additionally:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

See #8 regarding cortisol. I trust most of the information on Leangains as being legit. Anyways, just something else to consider. While the header is about fasting, he specifically refers to cortisol elevation and mentions coffee

from leangains-

"Chronically elevated levels of cortisol, resulting from psychological and/or physiological stress, is another thing and unquestionably bad for your health; it increases protein breakdown, appetite and may lead to depression."

so if caffeine increases cortisol...ahh...

Sidesteal

ya..good points...I do feel certain that at a minimum, I need to cut my coffee back a few notches

Found something else for you additionally:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

See #8 regarding cortisol. I trust most of the information on Leangains as being legit. Anyways, just something else to consider. While the header is about fasting, he specifically refers to cortisol elevation and mentions coffee

from leangains-

"Chronically elevated levels of cortisol, resulting from psychological and/or physiological stress, is another thing and unquestionably bad for your health; it increases protein breakdown, appetite and may lead to depression."

so if caffeine increases cortisol...ahh...

What is interesting is that he seems to advocate coffee. I wonder if he's differentiating between stress induced cortisol and cortisol levels from other sources. I don't quite see how it would be relevant, but that's sort of what I''m getting from the paragraph.

My "gut-level" reaction is that it's not going to matter, but I'd still like to see other studies/info on it of course.

_Shelley_

Well, this could explain things lmao.

Sidesteal

I linked this article in another thread but it has some relevance here. While not directly addressing caffeine --> Cortisol, please see the section about coffee.

http://alanaragon.com/bodybuilding-nutrition-roundtable-alan-aragon-will-brink-jamie-hale-layne-norton.html

rileysowner

I tend to avoid coffee although I do enjoy it. I used to drink LOTS of it, but stopped completely for about 6 months. When I started back, the caffeine seems now to really get to me which it didn't before and I get all jittery and tense. I still occasionally have a coffee, but usually I drink de-caf. Oddly enough tea and colas don't do the same thing unless I drink a lot more of them then I do coffee so maybe is it all in my head. Based on what I have seen here, it looks like more study is needed.