Have you ever wondered if green coffee is as good for weight loss as suggested in the media. Here is non sensationalist article that give you the facts not the fiction.
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Is Green Coffee Good For Weight Loss?
You’ve probably already heard all the talk about green coffee and how good it is for weight loss.
Now you are wondering if the things you have heard a true.
In all honesty, green coffee bean is a very controversial ingredient.
It does appear to have value as a weight loss aid, but it may support weight loss in a different way than some people think.
Instead of being a thermogenic fat burner, green coffee may actually help with weight loss by providing glucose control.
In this article, I am going to try and give you a balanced and honest explanation of the abilities of green coffee.
It will let you see both sides of the picture.
Too many sites only tell you the good things about green coffee.
They tactfully omit the bad press the ingredient has had in the past.
This one will tell you everything you need to know.
How Green Coffee Got Its Reputation as a Weight Loss Aid
The scientific community has been aware of the possible link between green coffee beans and weight loss for many years, but the ingredient was largely ignored by supplement manufactures until 2012.
That was the year when the American TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz went on air and told his audience green coffee bean extract is a good weight-loss provider, referring to it as
the green coffee bean that burns fat fast
Oz’ strong endorsement fired up the interest of his audience, word began to spread, and in no time at all supplement manufacturers all over the world took notice of green coffee beans at last and began adding green coffee bean extracts to many of their formulations.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. The claims Oz was making about green coffee bean extract caused him to end up in court.
It wasn’t entirely his fault. Oz was wowed by impressive study data.
The problem is, there were flaws with the data.
The researchers who got paid to write the report admitted they were unable to verify the data they shared.
The study was originally available in the journal Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy in 2012. It was published alongside claims that green coffee bean helps you to lose weight without diet or exercise.
The study has been retracted. It’s no longer available via any of the reliable sources online.
Does this mean green coffee bean is not good for weight loss? Not really. Other research suggests it has value.
Although it may not work in the same way as people originally thought.
Green Coffee Beans v Normal Coffee Beans
Before going any further, it’s probably a good idea to explain how green coffee beans differ from the dark brown beans so many people love to brew.
There are many varieties of coffee bean in the world but Arabica and Robusta beans are the most popular.
Green coffee beans are not a particular variety of bean though. Their “green” status merely means the beans have not been roasted.
That means you can have green Arabica coffee beans and green robusta beans too.
In their natural state, all coffee beans are green, but they are usually roasted to bring out their flavor and provide a deeper smoother taste.
Unfortunately, the roasting process destroys a chemical called chlorogenic acid that can provide several health benefits and may also be a natural weight loss aid.
What is Chlorogenic Acid?
If you ask scientists about chlorogenic acid, they may tell you it’s an ester of caffeic acid and quinic acid. Unless you are a budding boffin, that won’t mean a lot.
The main thing to know about chlorogenic acid is it’s not dangerously corrosive. It won’t melt your teeth or dissolve your tongue.
However, some of the abilities it possesses may help you to burn some extra fat.
Chlorogenic acid is not unique to green coffee beans. Other plants, including peaches and prunes, contain it as well.
However, green coffee is a particularly good source.
What Does Chlorogenic Acid Do?
There are a number of claims being made for chlorogenic acid. Some of them can be backed by science, others cannot.
However, research shows chlorogenic acid can be good for lowering blood pressure. (https://www.nature.com/articles/jhh201446)
The compound also appears to be capable of reducing inflammation and it’s often believed capable of preventing heart disease.
It may have additional value as a potential treatment for diabetes as well, so the fact that is now most famous for its fat-fighting abilities is a somewhat strange state of affairs.
But with obesity on the rise, on a worldwide scale, any compound that has the potential to do good is seldom ignored.
Green Coffee, Chlorogenic Acid, and Weight Loss
Although green coffee bean has potential value as a weight-loss provider there is still somewhat of a gray area about the mechanism involved.
There is a great need for further study.
However, some scientists have speculated chlorogenic acid may assist weight loss by interfering with the actions of certain natural enzymes found in the liver, retarding their ability to convert food nutrients into glucose.
There are also indications that suggest the chlorogenic acid provided by green coffee beans may further assist weight loss by inhibiting the body’s ability to form fresh fat cells, but the ingredient is generally most famed for its ability to bring about fat burning.
A Look at Some Research
There is research that suggests green coffee is good for weight loss.
The ingredient is not without promise.
Hopefully, future studies will provide a clearer insight into the way the ingredient works.
Let’s take a looks at a few studies.
#1. In January 2012, Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity published the findings of a 12-week study that was also highly supportive of green coffee bean’s abilities as a weight loss provider.
A total of 16 volunteers were involved.
All of them were overweight. Some of the volunteers received 700mg of green coffee bean extract every day.
The remaining volunteers were given a higher dose (1,050mg). An average weight loss of 18lbs was recorded by the end of the study period and the results were consistent across both groups, irrespective of the level of supplementation received.
This is the retracted study that landed Dr Oz in so much hot water so it’s only fitting that we should look at it first.
The Data wowed Dr Oz and infuriated the judge.
Nevertheless, although the data has to be questioned it cannot be entirely refuted.
Fortunately, there are a few additional studies from other sources that don’t have the question marks hanging over their heads.
#2. In one study, conducted at the University of Sacramento (USA), volunteers were restricted to a diet that provided 2,400 calories per day and were encouraged to avoid overly exerting themselves.
By ensuring the volunteers burned off less than 500 calories per day, but were consuming nearly five times that amount, the researchers had created a situation where weight gain was inevitable. None of the volunteers gained weight.
In fact, the average weight loss was 17lbs. The researchers believe this favorable result can only be due to daily supplementation with green coffee bean extract.
This probably the most credible study available at the moment.
#3. Research from the University of Singapore provides an interesting insight into some of the things chlorogenic acid can do.
The researchers were already aware chlorogenic acid can stimulate glucose uptake in skeletal muscle tissue by activating AMPK. However, they wished to find out how it affects other metabolic pathways.
Among other things, the study looks at the way chlorogenic acid affects glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. It also examines how the compound affects lipid metabolism.
The data shows chlorogenic acid successfully activated AMPK. This resulted in several beneficial metabolic outcomes that lead the researchers to conclude “CGA [chlorogenic acid] improved glucose and lipid metabolism, via the activation of AMPK”.
Unfortunately, the study involved mice, not people.
There is no way to be certain the results humans experience will be the same. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23416115)
#4. Another study involving mice casts some light on how the chlorogenic acid in green coffee may be good for helping people to lose weight.
Researchers in Italy fed male mice a standard diet containing green coffee bean extract. The study period was 14 days.
The researchers were interested in discovering if the extract could influence fat absorption. It did.
The research suggests the extract reduced visceral fat content and body weight.
Putting it bluntly, what the research really suggests is chlorogenic acid can reduce body weight by acting as a fat blocker.
Fat blockers lower daily calorie intake by limiting how much fat in food you can digest.
When you cannot digest fat, the calories it provides are not obtainable and will not contribute to weight gain.
After an evaluation of the data, the researchers concluded the results suggest chlorogenic acid is “possibly effective against weight gain and fat accumulation.
The researchers say this is due to its ability to inhibit fat absorption and because it activates fat metabolism in the liver.
Again, a study like this is not as credible as a study involving humans but it does provide a basis for further research. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16545124)
#5. Let’s take a look at the results of another study involving mice.
It’s not ideal that it has to be this way, but we can only work with what we’ve got.
In this case, the research comes from Korea.
The researchers wanted to evaluate chlorogenic acid’s ability to enhance lipid catabolism and regulate body fat.
The mice in the study were obese. They’d been fed a special diet that made them that way.
The researchers continued to feed the mice a high-fat diet but gave some of them green coffee extracts as well.
The data shows chlorogenic acid significantly decreased body weight gain.
Data from tests involving dual-energy X-ray machines shows the mice given green coffee bean extract also had lower fat mass.
The researchers concluded green coffee bean extract has a “potential anti-obesity effect”. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27393090)
Is Green Coffee Good for Weight Loss Other Considerations
As well as being rich in chlorogenic acid, green coffee beans are also a source of caffeine.
In their natural state (green) coffee beans are generally 5-10% Chlorogenic acid.
By comparison, the caffeine content is generally around 1-2%.
However, although the chlorogenic acid is sacrificed during the coffee bean roasting process, the caffeine is not.
But let’s keep it green. The caffeine content of roasted coffee beans has little relevance here.
The fact that green coffee beans contain a little caffeine is not a bad thing.
Although people tend to focus on the energy-boosting ability of caffeine, it’s also a proven fat burner. It works by increasing metabolism and thermogenesis.
Caffeine’s ability to reduce appetite is also beneficial for weight loss but, as already stated, chlorogenic acid is the driving fat-fighting force in green coffee beans and green coffee bean extracts.
Not because it is necessarily more powerful. It just happens to be more plentiful within the beans.
Is Green Coffee Good for Weight Loss Summary
Is green coffee good for weight loss? You will have to make up your own mind about that. Research involving mice certainly suggests it has potential.
The lack of human-based research is not totally damning. Any kind of research is better than no research at all.
Though, research involving humans is the type of research that carries the most weight.
As tends to be the case with weight loss-providing ingredients, there are plenty of people trying to rubbish green coffee bean’s reputation for providing effective weight loss.
In some cases, negative comments can be sourced to unscrupulous internet marketers who are trying to downplay the ingredient in the hopes of making their promoted product(s) sound more appealing to potential buyers.
Some manufacturers that have pretty good green coffee bean products don’t do themselves any favors either.
They lose their credibility by making overly-dramatic weight-loss claims.
This is a pity because green coffee bean is a reasonably good ingredient. By popular opinion, anyway. Lots of dieters share tales of great success using green coffee products.
Although the lack of credible human studies is a problem, there are still indications that it may deliver the kind of results most dieters crave.
In fact, when the singer Katy Perry needed to spruce-up her curves for an upcoming photo-shoot she began taking green coffee bean extract and the cover of Vogue magazine suggests the ingredient worked well for her.
A picture paints a thousand words and it’s always hard to argue with incredible curves.
