Reported Potential Benefits Of Using Green Coffee Bean Extract For Weight Loss As Part Of A Balanced Diet

Posted by The Popular News Today on Friday, September 21, 2012

By Cindy Davis


A novel type of soft drink is hitting the coffee shops. It contains green coffee bean extract and is enjoyed by people looking for and a recharge. Along with fruit juice, a key ingredient is extract from unroasted coffee beans. Refreshing and revitalizing as it is, there is also a movement to use green coffee bean extract for weight loss.

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.

Keeping weight down to healthy levels has confounded people for thousands of years. The second-century Greek doctor, Soranus of Ephesus, could easily be regarded as the father of bariatrics, the science of weight loss. He prescribed laxatives, exercise, purgatives, heat and massage. These were the weight loss aids of choice for over a thousand years.

The next big trend in weight loss was amphetamines. These were found in the 1930s to be good at appetite suppression. These drugs were later discovered to have dangerous side effects, such as cardiotoxicity and addiction. After they were connected to a series of deaths in the '60s, they were banned from use.

A promising weight loss drug named Fen-Phen was popular in the '90s with patients and physicians alike. Fen-Phen was a composite of two drugs, fenfluramine and phentermine. Eventually, this was linked to problems like heart valve damage and high blood pressure. Fen-Phen joined amphetamines on the scrap heap in 1997.

The next fad occurred at the dawn of the third millennium. This was Ephedra (named after the Ephesians in honor of Soranus, perhaps). This, too, was axed as a result of concerns over hypertension, cerebrovascular incidents and deaths.

However promising the emerging data concerning green coffee bean extract for weight loss may appear to be, GCBE should be used with caution. All drugs are 'dirty' and have harmful side effects at high doses or over time. Drinking water in too high a concentration can be fatal. Green coffee bean extract contains thousands of different chemicals. Not all of them have been as thoroughly characterized as caffeine and, to a lesser extent, chlorogenic acid. Some of the GCBE preparations currently available over the Internet contain as much as 800 milligrams of coffee extract. People considering using this dietary supplement as an aid to losing weight should certainly consult their medical adviser. Enjoying the occasional refreshing, revitalizing iced beverage should be harmless to most people.




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