Wear Your Coffee If you thought the suggestion about coffee in Monday's e-Alert ("Morning Coffee" 3/15/04) was extreme (the idea to give coffee to school kids), then wait until you hear this one… Based on the facts that: 1) coffee can slightly increase metabolism, and 2) can also be absorbed by the skin, a company in Austria has developed exercise tights that are permeated with caffeine. Honest - I'm not making this up. They're called Coffee Tights. Tiny capsules containing caffeinated gelatin are enmeshed in the stretch fabric. Body heat releases the caffeine, which is absorbed into the skin. Supposedly the caffeine remains effective even after repeated washings. And you can also soak them in hot water to brew a tasty, eye-opening beverage. Okay - that last part I made up. According to the UK's Daily Mail, the makers of Coffee Tights state that their product can shrink thighs by more than half an inch in three weeks. But nutritionist Catherine Collins calls the caffeine a "red herring." Ms. Collins told the Daily Mail that any tights, if tight enough and worn long enough, can put pressure on blood vessels, improve circulation, and squeeze fluid up out of the legs, giving the impression of slightly slimmer thighs. Yes, but only one brand of tights can make you feel like you're exercising in a Starbucks. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute Source:
"Can Coffee Tights Aid Dieting?" Robin Yapp, Daily Mail, 3/9/04, femail.co.uk | 
