Why Lemon Juice In Coffee Doesn't Do A Thing For Weight Loss

It seems like there's a new weight loss fad every week, almost all of which are good for short-term shedding of pounds but don't seem to do much for long-lasting results, like the baby food diet or the cabbage soup diet. The latest of these trends is adding lemon juice to your morning coffee, with various people on TikTok swearing by this technique as a way to increase fat burning and lose weight. 

One TikTok user, Hilda Ama Braso, posted a video saying she tried doing this challenge for a week and stopped after not seeing results and not wanting to keep drinking the concoction. A few dietitians have weighed in on this new fad to offer their professional opinions. The takeaway? It probably isn't really worth it, especially when the taste is that bad. Frankly, it sounds positively weird, even though the cold brew lemonade drink has been popping up around cafés here and there, adding sour lemon juice to bitter black coffee doesn't sound overly appealing.

Karen Graham, RD, CDE spoke with Eat This, Not That! about the lemon in coffee trend. "We do know that [lemon juice] decreases the glycemic index, the rate at which blood sugar is absorbed into the blood," she said. "If you include lemon juice with a meal — salad, coffee, sprinkled on fish — it slows down how quickly you absorb the carbohydrates from all the foods in that meal." Despite the benefits of consuming lemon juice, it "doesn't mean it's going to help you with weight loss," Graham said. She found the hack to be questionable at best, saying the only plausible reason she could see for its effectiveness is if it "cuts [an individual's] appetite, and they don't eat as much." 

Dietitian Marcela Fiuza agreed. "There is no physiological explanation that would justify mixing coffee and lemon to lose weight," she told Newsweek. She went on to explain the potential harm that can come from fad and yo-yo diets. "The best diet needs to be one that works for you in the long term," recommending a combination of eating healthy foods and adding in some exercise in order to see weight loss results. Sorry, TikTok, but we won't be trying this hack anytime soon.