TikTok users are at it again! In their most recent attempt at finding bizarre lifestyle trends that are supposedly meant to aid in overall wellness, this one's got doctor's utterly unimpressed.
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Lemon coffee: A viral trend
On TikTok, the hashtag #lemoncoffee has more than 7.5 million views after word circulated saying that squeezing lemon juice into coffee promoted significant weight loss.
However, many medical experts have come forth to disprove the false claims, with some even pointing out the negative effects that could come about as a result of this practice. Registered dietician and weight loss author Erin Palinski-Wade explained that:
Adding lemon into coffee will not promote weight loss, just like drinking lemon water has little impact on body weight.
Before adding:
However, drinking more calorie-free beverages, especially warm beverages, can help to increase the feeling of fullness, which may lead to eating smaller portions and weight loss. But it isn't the lemon causing the weight loss.
In other words, lemon juice in and of itself will not be directly be conducive to losing weight. While some users swear by the hack—which has only contributed to the confusion surrounding lemon water—Michelle Rauch, a registered dietician, revealed the negative effects that could come from consuming too much of the concoction. She said:
The idea that combining coffee and lemon juice creates a ‘fat burning’ elixir is false. While each component may have some of their own health benefits, there is no scientific evidence to prove that the pairing of the two would promote weight loss. Consuming too much of this concoction can actually have adverse effects to one’s health.
What are the adverse effects?
As has been well documented time and again, too much coffee can be very harmful to one's health. For one, Raunch explains that excessive consumption of coffee could cause headaches, irritability, nervousness, increased heart rate and insomnia.
While too much citric acid from lemon juice could cause some serious damage to tooth enamel as well as the esophageal lining. Not to mention also worsen pre-existing conditions such as acid reflux.
