Diet Pill Alert

by Jack Lee

Warning: The latest diet fad is consuming green coffee beans in capsule form. There’s no independent scientific double blind studies to show it works. Almost all diet products are advertised as a food supplement, this is to get around FDA oversight. Before taking any new miracle diet pill better consult your doctor first.

UPDATE: Out of an abundance of caution, I am doing further research on the green coffee bean extract used for weight loss. I refer you to this article: http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=132201

What Is Green Coffee Bean Extract Used for Today?

Animal studies have found evidence that chlorogenic acids from green coffee bean extract can reduce blood pressure. 1 Based on this, researchers have conducted human trials.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 117 males with mild hypertension , GCBE was given for one month at 46 mg, 93 mg, or 185 mg daily. 2 After 28 days, the results showed a significant improvement in blood pressure as compared to placebo in the 93 mg and 185 mg groups. The results seen were dose-related, meaning that the greater the dose, the greater the improvement. The finding of dose-relatedness tends to increase the likelihood that a studied treatment is actually effective. Antihypertensive benefits were also seen in a much smaller study using purified chlorogenic acids. 3

GCBE has also shown a bit of promise for aiding weight loss4 , perhaps in part due to its chlorogenic acid content. 5 The caffeine in GCBE might also provide a slight weight loss benefit.

GCBE products are sometimes said to help prevent diabetes; however, this claim derives only from weak evidence involving consumption of ordinary coffee, 6 and cannot be relied upon at all.

Roasted (as opposed to green) coffee beans contain the substances kahweol and cafestol, which appear to increase levels of LDL (“bad” cholesterol). 7 The fact that GCBE does not contain these substances is used as an argument in its favor. However, these substances remain in the coffee grounds and so they are also not present in standard beverage coffee, so this is probably not a significant point. (Unfiltered or boiled coffee, with the grounds left in, however, may present a risk.)

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Dosage

In the large human trial of GCBE for hypertension noted above, the extract was most effective when taken at a dose of 185 mg daily.

Since green coffee bean extract typically contains about 30% chlorogenic acids, this works out to a dose of about 60 mg of chlorogenic acids daily. Another study used 140 mg of purified chlorogenic acids daily.

Safety Issues

GCBE is thought to be a safe substance. In human trials, no significant adverse effects have been seen.

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8 Responses to Diet Pill Alert

  1. Harold Ey says:

    How can that be? they are GREEN energy

  2. Soaps says:

    Are you sure you read the test results correctly? Everything I read indicates a reduction in plasma levels of homocysteine.

  3. Post Scripts says:

    Soaps, try taking a look at chlorogenic acid. Apparently this is the main ingredient in the green coffee bean extract.

    It does provide some beneficial results regarding weight loss and treating type II diabetes. Based on what I have read since I now believe that anyone taking a chlorogenic supplement for a short duration is probably not at risk, unless they already have high blood pressure and heart disease, then I would be extremely cautious. But, checking with your doctor is probably always a good idea before embarking on any new radical diet plan.

    You might want to take a look at this article in the National Institute of Health, it was very informative…

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11237928

    It is titled: “Consumption of high doses of chlorogenic acid, present in coffee, or of black tea increases plasma total homocysteine concentrations in humans.”

    The results were inconclusive, but worth the read.

    Also, “Coffee Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease: Paradoxical Effects on Biological Risk Factors versus Disease Incidence”

    http://www.clinchem.org/content/54/9/1418.full

    I thought these were pretty well done even though they don’t quite answer your question or directly support what I previously read.

    I will keep looking for my source and let you know when I find it. i recall turning up on Wikipedia and there was info on green coffee beans and there was a link to chlorogenic acid, which warned about risk factors noted. But, now I can’t find it. I wish I had book marked it. Lesson learned.

  4. Soaps says:

    “checking with your doctor is probably always a good idea”

    I challenge you and your readers to do just that, in person. My guess is that most doctors know less about chlorogenic acid than anyone who has read this post so far. I doubt that most doctors could even spell the word.

    I did look at the study you referred to. It was posted in 2001 and perforce based on information obtained years before. I don’t know whether it is incorrect or simply out of date, but, as I said, every study I looked at recently showed a reduction in homocysteine. Not that I personally care, since I am one of the few in the USA who does not need any kind of weight reduction diet or a reduction in homocysteine, which is almost always associated with a high-fat, high protein and iron diet, i.e. beef.

  5. Post Scripts says:

    Good information Soaps, what do you think about Japanese shitake noodles as a form of fiber and an aid to weight loss? What is your current body fat percentage, if you don’t mind people knowing? What would you attribute your physical success too?

  6. Post Scripts says:

    “checking with your doctor is probably always a good idea” In the sense that a person’s doctor is aware of their medical condition, allergies, etc., it is probably a good idea to check with the doc before embarking on a major weight loss program using over the counter diet drugs. The interaction with these diet ingredients and prescription medication is one of my concerns.

  7. terafied says:

    Actually most Americans don’t need to lose weight, but that doesn’t mean you’ll drop dead from an undiagnosed cardiovascular condition next week.

  8. regime says:

    A great website ! thank you for information !

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