Potential Benefits Of Using Green Coffee Bean Extract For Weight Loss As A Dietary Supplement

By Cindy Davis


Coffee houses have recently introduced a new cold beverage. Currently available in either lime or raspberry flavor, it is offered as a way to recharge and refresh. One of the key ingredients in this new beverage is green coffee bean extract (GCBE). In some circles, the use of green coffee bean extract for weight loss is becoming popular.

In Scranton, Pennsylvania, biochemists have been analyzing the health benefits of coffee and tea since 1998. Evidence was presented at the 2012 meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego that the chemical responsible for the observed weight loss effects of GCBE is
chlorogenic acid, a chemical relative of chlorophyll, the green molecule that is crucial to photosynthesis. Subjects in the Pennsylvania study lost 16 percent of body fat overall.

The mechanism by which chlorogenic acid is thought to promote weight loss is through slowing the rate of glucose absorption, forcing the body to utilize stored fat instead as an energy source. When the body start to break down its fat stores for energy, weight loss does happen faster. Skeptics attribute this effect to caffeine rather than chlorogenic acid. GCBE only contains half the caffeine as a strong cup of coffee.

People have been trying weight loss remedies since the second century. The Greek physician Soranus of Ephesus could be described as the world's first bariatrician (weight loss specialist). He employed a combination of purgatives, laxatives, exercise, heat and massage. These formed the basis of treatment for more than a thousand years.

By the late 1930s, amphetamines became popular as effective appetite suppressants. Unfortunately, these turned out to have dangerous cardiotoxic and addictive side effects. Following a spate of deaths in the 1960s, their use as a weight loss aid was discontinued.

In the '90s, Fen-Phen was top of the charts for helping people lose weight. Favored by both patients and physicians alike, it was a composite of two active ingredients, phentermine and fenfluramine. These, too, were shown to be dangerous and subsequently withdrawn from the market. It turned out they caused pulmonary hypertension and damaged valves in the heart.

Ephedra was the next trend in weight loss at the beginning of the 21st century. It is tantalizing to speculate that this was named in honor of the good doctor Soranus, from Ephesus. Eventually, Ephedra became linked with high blood pressure, stroke and deaths and was banned from use.

Apparently, even our distant ancestors had trouble managing the right combination of diet and exercise. Many drugs have looked as promising as green coffee bean extract for weight loss, and many have been withdrawn due to toxic side effects. No drug is completely safe; even water in excessive quantities can prove fatal. There are thousands of different compounds in GCBE, most of which have not been studied as closely as caffeine and chlorogenic acid. Commercial preparations of GCBE are packed with as much as 800 mg of the extract. Anyone who is thinking about purchasing it as an aid to weight loss should definitely consult their local doctor beforehand.




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