Your morning cup of coffee may do more than wake you up. According to a new study published in the journal BMJ Medicine, drinking coffee regularly could reduce body fat and the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes. But don’t think that swigging an Irish coffee this St. Patrick’s Day will have the same health benefits. The researchers said that drinking only black coffee or espressos may have this fat-burning effect.

Important: Don’t be denied Medicare coverage for key procedures! And find 50+ benefits of Medicare your doctor won’t tell you! See More Here

According to the New York Post, researchers looked at nearly 10,000 people of European ancestry with genetic traits that made them metabolize coffee more slowly. They used what is called Mendelian randomization, a technique that investigates the relationship between a trait and an outcome. People with these genetic variants tend to drink less coffee yet have higher levels of caffeine in their blood.

The same group of people was found to have a lower body mass index, body fat mass, and risk of Type 2 diabetes, potentially pointing to caffeine as the reason. Caffeine may allow the body to burn more fat and make people feel full faster so that they eat less. Being thinner reduces the risk of developing diabetes, says the Post.

The findings could lead to calorie-free caffeinated beverages being used to reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes, said the researchers, but that adding sugar and fat to coffee would offset the positive effects.

“These results suggest caffeine may be linked to a lower body mass index, lower body fat and a reduced likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes,” said Dipender Gill, senior author of the study from Imperial College London. “It may improve people’s metabolism, although this doesn’t mean that people should go out and drink lots of high-calorie drinks like chai lattes.”

An average cup of coffee has between 70 and 150 milligrams of caffeine, and research shows that 100 milligrams per day can burn 100 calories daily.  According to The Guardian, the new study was built on previous research that found drinking three to five cups of coffee daily was associated with a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The reduced risk in Type 2 diabetes was driven by weight loss in nearly half of the study subjects, prompting some experts to question whether it was actually the caffeine that drove the diabetes risk down. Dr. Stephen Lawrence, an associate professor at the University of Warwick’s medical school, noted that increased caffeine consumption was not more effective than reducing calorie intake and increasing physical activity. Caffeine consumption gave some people palpitations and abnormal heart rhythm, so it’s not suitable for everyone.

“Should people drink more coffee to reduce fat or diabetes risk?” asked Lawrence. “The science suggests relatively good evidence that consuming caffeine increases fat burning, even at rest, However, it does not constitute a treatment for obesity, and used wrongly, may result in weight gain or even harm.”

Important: Don’t be denied Medicare coverage for key procedures! And find 50+ benefits of Medicare your doctor won’t tell you! See More Here