You store body fat in specialized cells called adipocytes, or fat cells. While some supplements on the market promise to help destroy fat cells, there isn't scientific evidence that this is possible, except by surgical intervention. Coffee and vitamins, for instance, can't help you destroy fat cells. Ask your doctor if you have questions about using coffee and vitamins for weight loss.
Fat Cells
Even though obesity is common in the United States and many people would like to lose at least a little bit of body fat, fat cells serve a valuable purpose from an evolutionary perspective. When you consume more food than you need at a particular time, your body converts the extra energy into molecules of fat, called triglycerides, which you store in fat cells, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her book "Human Physiology." This ensures that you don't run out of energy during periods of fasting or famine.
Destroying Fat Cells
Research suggests that the number of fat cells you have in your body is determined during your adolescence, explains an article published on the website MedicalNewsToday. If you gain weight, you do so by increasing the size of your existing fat cells. Weight loss, on the other hand, happens when you shrink your fat cells. There doesn't appear to be any way -- short of surgical removal of body fat -- to destroy fat cells or decrease their number.
Coffee And Vitamins
There is no scientific evidence that vitamin supplements in any way affect body fat. Even though you need certain vitamins to process fuels like fat for energy -- this is particularly true of the B vitamins -- taking extra B vitamins won't increase your body's fat-processing ability. Coffee is a diuretic, so it can make you lose a small amount of water weight by causing you to urinate more. It also increases your metabolism temporarily and can cause you to burn a small additional amount of energy, but there's no research to suggest it destroys fat cells.
General Guidelines
If you're interested in losing weight, you should talk to a doctor for advice on safe dieting. Even though some diets rely upon sources of caffeine -- such as coffee -- to enhance weight loss, there's no research to suggest that this is effective in the long run. The most effective long term weight loss strategy -- and even this strategy will only shrink fat cells, it won't destroy them -- is decreased caloric intake and increased energy expenditure through physical activity.
References
- "Human Physiology"; Lauralee Sherwood, Ph.D.; 2004
- MedicalNewsToday.com: Fat Cells
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